Berkley Books by Agatha Christie
APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH
THE BIG FOUR
THE BOOMERANG CLUE
CARDS ON THE TABLE
DEAD MAN'S MIRROR
DEATH IN THE AIR
^'V DOUBLE SIN AND OTHER STORIES ;;
',. ^ ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER
THE GOLDEN BALL AND OTHER STORIES
,.; THE HOLLOW y
_ S- • THE LABORS OF HERCULES ^.. t^_
''r^^S-*' • THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT ^^|sS?:?4&
• •&V^.-^%'p .-• • ^-''•.'.•..^^'•f.1^^
^-'' THE MOVING FINGER
'^' MISS MARPLE: THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES
^i^S". '^ito1 • mr. BARKER PYNE, DETECTIVE . A;
'" THE MURDER AT HAZELMOOR 1
,,, THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE
MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA
MURDER IN RETROSPECT
MURDER IN THREE ACTS "'
THE MURDER ON THE LINKS
THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN
.«.'
saa.
?•%
N OR M? -sfSnf
PARTNERS IN CRIME iSS-i
THE PATRIOTIC MURDERS
PIOROT LOSES A CLIENT
THE REGATTA MYSTERY AND OTHER STORIES
H SAD CYPRESS
THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS
THERE IS A TIDE...
THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD
THIRTEEN AT DINNER
THREE BLIND MICE AND OTHER STORIES
THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS
THE UNDER DOG AND OTHER STORIES
THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION AND OTHER STORIES
This Berkley book contains the complete
text of the original hardcover edition.
It has been completely reset in a typeface
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^a-.i from new film. w^wr.
N OR M? t 'SS- 4
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with' -yS^--,
G. P. Putnam's Sons B
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' PRINTING HISTORY
Dodd, Mead edition published 1941
Berkley edition / June 1984
All rights reserved.
^""Copyright 1941 by Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Copyright renewed 1969 by Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Book design by Virginia M. Smith.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part,
by mimeograph or any other means, without permission.
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^


;)?£
Tommy Beresford removed his overcoat in the
hall of the flat. He hung it up with some care, taking
time over it. His hat went carefully on the next
peg.
He squared his shoulders, affixed a resolute
smile to his face and walked into the sitting room
where his wife sat knitting a Balaclava helmet in
khaki wool.
Mrs. Beresford gave him a quick glance and
then busied herself by knitting at a furious rate.
She said after a minute or two:
"Any news in the evening paper?"
Tommy said:
"The Blitzkrieg is coming, hurray, hurray!
Things look bad in France."
Tuppence said: . ;»'
"It's a depressing world at the moment."
There was a pause and then Tommy said:
"Well, why don't you ask? No need to be so
damned tactful."
"I know," admitted Tuppence. "There is something
about conscious tact that is very irritating.
But then it irritates you if I do ask. And anyway I
don't need to ask. It's written all over you."
"I wasn't conscious of looking a Dismal Desmond."
"No,
darling," said Tuppence. "You had a
kind of nailed to the mast smile which was one of
^aisfhtsi Christie
the most heart-remin^g «|ungs I have ever seen."
Tommy said wi|]i a gi-jl;
"No, was it resly g^s ^H as all that?"
"And more! Vyi, c^iae on, out with it. Noth
ing doing?"
"Nothing doing (Th.K? don't want me in an ; capacity. I tell ^ 1'iippence, it's pretty thic;
when a man of fdity-sSiM is made to feel like a do< dering grandfathg ftAtvff, Navy, Air Force, Fo
eign Office, one ^ misay the same thing--I'i.
too old. I may besq^ir-d later."
Tuppence said:
"Well, it's theart^ie for me. They don't wai
people of my age lor ^ixntsing--no, thank you. N<
for anything else, Th^ey 'd rather have a fluffy chi
who's never seenjy^iiaiii. or sterilized a dressing than they would lay-e me who worked for thre
years, 1915 to 19^ i^i warious capacities, nurse i i the surgical warding opiating theatre, driver o
a trade delivery va ^n<il^ter of a General. This
that and the other-^ll., 1 assert firmly, with cor
spicuous success, ^n^l n»w I'm a poor, pushing tiresome, middle-igg^d wman who won't sit a
home quietly andhm^ s^she ought to do." ^?? ,,„,„ Tommy said glooni, ily: ^.,, - g™ :y'-
%. "This War is HtB.' ' fc,,- M ^. ^ "It's bad enoiigji h^vittg a war," said Tup
pence, "but not hgn^ gillo'wed to do anything in
just puts the lid on" *,;
, Tommy said comol ii-^gy:
E "Well,atanyriteT^>^lioirahhasgotajob."
Deborah's mot|i(r ^a-^d; k
S'^h, she's all righ,t^ lexpect she's good at ii
oo. But I still thiak^, Tommy, that I could hoi
my own with Deb(rar»-*' c .ySi"* Tommy grinned >^m
IJ'IS"";&^ ,...:,»(." NORM? 3
"She wouldn't think so." f^ s Tuppence said:
"Daughters can be very trying. Especially when
they will be so kind to you." wf^m^ .,,:~y^ yw Tommy murmured: H8
"The way young Derek makes allowances for
me is sometimes rather hard to bear. That 'poor
old Dad' look in his eye."
"In fact," said Tuppence, "our children, although
quite adorable, ^are also. quite maddenBut
at the mention of the twins, Derek and
Deborah, her eyes were very tender.
"I suppose," said Tommy thoughtfully, "that
it's always hard for people themselves to realize
that they're getting middle-aged .and past doing
things." US IN- iii.'"'
~ SSWS'!^. ' ' l--,.^i.);.^,;;'^:'.*l t-.f ...A;;';
Tuppence gave a snort of rage, tossed her glossy
dark head and sent her ball of khaki wool spinning
from her lap.
"Are we past doing things? Are we? Or'is it
only that everyone keeps insinuating that we are,
Sometimes I feel that we never were any use.'' HldCi
"Quite likely," said Toromy.^ 3^
"Perhaps so. But at any rate we did once feel
important. And now I'm beginning to feel that all
that never really happened. Did it happen,
Tommy? Is it true that you were once crashed on
the head and kidnapped by German agents? Is it
true that we once tracked down a dangerous criminal--and
got him? Is it true that we rescued a girl
and got hold of important secret papers, and were
practically thanked by a grateful country? Us! ;, You and me! Despised, unwanted Mr. and Mrs. © Beresford." ^,3^t|^|»3»^^^
"Now, dry up, darling. All this does no good."
4 Agai
"All the same, "sa
tear. "I'm disappoint
"He wrote us a ver
"He didn't do an:
out any hope."
"Well, he's out o
He's quite old. Lives i
Tuppence said wist
"They might have 1
telligence."
"Perhaps we coul
haps, nowadays, we v
"I wonder," said 1
same. But perhaps, as
point—"
She sighed. She sai<
"I wish we could fi
rotten when one has s
.; Her eyes rested ,
photograph of the v<
uniform, with the

Tommy's. ? ,:
Tommy said:
"It's worse for a r
all—and do up parcel;
Tuppence said:
"I can do all that
not old enough to
neither one thing nor
The front door bell
flat was a small servic
H She opened the doc
man with a big fair n
face, standing on the:
His glance, a quick
in a pleasant voice:
N OR M? 5
"AreyouMrs.Beresford?"
"Yes." "^.v!' ^"^ "My name's Grant. I'm a friend of Lord Easthampton's.
He suggested I should look you and
your husband up." 3^ "Oh, how nice, do come in." R^ She preceded him into the sitting room.
"My husband, er--Captain--"
"Mr." ..',. I *|
"Mr. Grant. He's a friend of Mr. Car--of Lord
Easthampton's."
The old nom de guerre of the former Chief of
the Intelligence, "Mr. Carter," always came more
easily to her lips than their old friend's proper
title.
For a few minutes the three talked happily together.
Grant was an attractive person with an
easy manner.
Presently Tuppence left the room. She returned
a few minutes later with the sherry and some
glasses.
After a few minutes, when a pause came, Mr.
Grant said to Tommy:
"I hear you're looking for a job, Beresford?"
An eager light came into Tommy's eye.
"Yes, indeed. You don't mean--" .^ Grant laughed, and shook his head.
"Oh, nothing of that kind. No, I'm afraid that
has to be left to the young active men--or to those
who've been at it for years. The only things I can
suggest are rather stodgy, I'm afraid. Office work.
Filing papers. Tying them up in red tape and
pigeon-holing them. That sort of thing." y-^ -^ Tommy's face fell. a^-s."* ^S^''^ >' "Oh, I see!" ^.'-::-,, sSj,;,^ Grant said encouragingly: ^"%»% A *
6 Agatha Christie 5
"Oh, well, it's better than nothing. Anyway,
come and see me at my office one day. Ministry of
s Requirements. Room 22. We'll fix you up with
something." p? ^ ••'^
The telephone rang. Tuppence picked up the
I receiver, g
"Hullo—yes—what?" A squeaky voice spoke ygss3
agitatedly from the other end. Tuppence's face
t changed. "When? Oh, my dear—of course—I'll
come over right away...."
1 She put back the receiver. ^aa&ta?
* She said to Tommy:
« ' 'That was Maureen.' '•^
"I thought so—I recognized her voice from ,
Tuppence explained breathlessly: |||| ?>
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Grant. But I musTgo round
to this friend of mine. She's fallen and twisted her
ankle and there's no one with her but her little girl,
so I must go round and fix up things for her and
| get hold of someone to come in and look after her.
Do forgive me." ^".1 ^g K^ I
^ "Of course, Mrs. Beresford, I quite under- ^"
| stand." BB'
^| Tuppence smiled at him, picked up a coat which
H had been lying over the sofa, slipped her arms into ;
it and hurried out. The flat door banged. :'•
Tommy poured out another glass of sherry for
his guest. ^'".'''s^'s'S^T?'' •".11 •'....''
-."Don't go yet," he said. <"Acy
"Thank you." The other accepted the glass. He
sipped it for a moment in silence. Then he said:
"In a way, you know, your wife's being called
away is a fortunate occurrence. It will save time."
si® Tommy stared. ';•"-•. ••^- •;• ^v •
» "I don't understand."1®^'- ^-S^,,,^
,, NORM? ; 7
Grant said deliberately: a "You see, Beresford, if you had come to see me
at the Ministry, I was empowered to put a certain
proposition before you."
The colour came slowly up in Tommy's freckled
face. He said: ' """a
"You don't mean:^"^ , .^|^B,,^:, ;^
Grant nodded. gS&s^te*^® a*-!- Safe "Easthampton suggested you," he said. "He
told us you were the man for the job." g;xy^|%g Tommy gave a deep sigh. a^ ^ '" " ly^ "Tell me, "he said. ^ w&^ "This is strictly confidential, of course." ^^^ Tommy nodded. *.^; ,c. ,s , "Not even your wife must know. You under,:
stand?"
"Very well--if you say so. But we worked together
before."
"Yes, I know. But this proposition is solely for
T-- - -.-^ .-- . ^-^ ^W^K^-;-V ' „, ;.you."
|g ^,.., ,^ ^,;,^ ^
"I see. All right:"1' "I' ^ ^|"Ostensibly
you will be offered work--as I said
just now--office work--in a branch of the Ministry
functioning in Scotland--in a prohibited area
where your wife cannot accompany you. Actually^;
you will be somewhere very different."
Tommy merely waited. ^..,,^r: . s;,
Grant said:
"You've read in the newspapers of the Fifth
Column? You know, roughly at any rate, just
what that term implies."
Tommy murmured: :..:-:, ^IrS'SS
.. '-^ ^s^."*-^^^
The enemy within."
"Exactly. This war, Beresford, started in an optimistic
spirit. Oh, I don't mean the people who
really knew--we've knownaHalong what.we were
8 I : Agatha Christie
up against--the efficiency of the enemy, his aerial
strength, his deadly determination, and the co-ordination
of his well-planned war machine. I mean
the people as a whole. The good-hearted, muddleheaded
democratic fellow who believes what he
wants to believe--that Germany will crack up,p „ that she's on the verge of revolution, that her||
I weapons of war are made of tin and that her men& | are so underfed that they'll fall down if they try to
march--all that sort of stuff. Wishful thinking, as|g
the saying goes. ||j
"Well, the war didn't go that way. It started^ .;, badly and it went on worse. The men were all|& I right--the men on the battleships and in the planes^ and in the dugouts. But there was mismanagement^;
and unpreparedness--the defects, perhaps, of our|||
qualities. We don't want war, haven't considered
it seriously, weren't good at preparing for it.
"The worst of that is over. We've corrected our
mistakes, we're slowly getting the right men in the
right places. We're beginning to run the war as it
should be run--and we can win the war--make nog i mistake about that--but only if we don't lose if first. And the danger of losing it comes, not y .from outside--not from the might of Germany's
|g||bombers, not from her seizure of neutral countries
uand fresh vantage points from which to attack--
from within. Our danger is the danger of
*Troy--the wooden horse within our walls. Call it
wthe Fifth Column if you like. It is here, among us.
Men and women, some of them highly placed,
Ssome of them obscure, but all believing genuinely
in the Nazi aims and the Nazi creed and desiring
to substitute that sternly efficient creed for the
muddled easy-going liberty of our democratic
--.institutions." „„------ --
N OR M? 9
Grant leaned forward. He said, still in that same
pleasant unemotional voice:
"And we don't know who they are...."
Tommy said: " But surely--'' Has Grant said, with a touch of impatience:
"Oh, we can round up thesmall fry. That's easy
enough. But it's the others. We know about them.
We know that there are at least two highly placed
in the Admiralty--that one must be a member of
General G----'s staff--that there are three or
more in the Air Force, and that two, at least, are
members of the Intelligence, know Cabinet
secrets. We know that because it must be so from
the way things have happened. The leakage--a
leakage from the top--of information to the
enemy, shows us that." l^1'
Tommy said helplessly, his pleasant face perplexed:

"But what good should I be to you? I don't
know any of these people."
Grant nodded. If '.fi^'-i. ^, "ySisi --.
"Exactly. You don't know any of them--aw? they don't know you." ^ He paused to let it sink in and then went on.
"These people, these high up people, know
most of our lot. Information can't be very well
refused to them. I was at my wits' end. I went to
Easthampton. He's out of it all now--a sick man
--but his brain's the best I've ever known. He
thought of you. Nearly twenty years since you
worked for the Department. Name quite unconnected
with it. Your face not known. What do you
say--will you take it on?" ; ^ ^ '^-
Tommy's face was almost split in two by the
magnitude of his ecstatic grin.
"Take it on? You bet I'll take it on. Though I
10 Agatha Christie 'Wi^^"'
can't see how I can be of any use. I'm just a
blasted amateur.''
"My dear Beresford, amateur status is just what ; ^'v, is needed. The professional is handicapped here.
| You'll take on in place of the best man we had or
E1 are likely to have."
Tommy looked a question. Grant nodded. ^11 "Yes. Died in St. Bridget's Hospital last TuesJI|S
day. Run down by a lorry--only lived a few hours.
Accident case--but it wasn't an accident. "||Syg^ Tommy said slowly: "I see." ^?;:l,^By""',l'gi|^ Grant said quietly: ^:^^., "And that's why we have reason to believe that
Farquhar was on to something--that he was get
ting somewhere at last. By his death that wasn't an
accident." 'SS ^'^^-k.^^^W^'s'-^' ' Tommy looked a'questibn;''' '
' Grant went on: ls£a ''sA^^-
"Unfortunately we know next to nothing of
what he had discovered. Farquhar had been
methodically following up one line after another. ^ Most of them led nowhere.'' ^
8- Grant paused and then went on: BA^2 "- "Farquhar was unconscious until a few minutes } before he died. Then he tried to say something, |||J What he said was this: N or M Song Susie." f
"That," said Tommy, "doesn't seem very illu'
minating." --------
Grant smiled. ^ ^,^.
"A little more so than you might think. N or M,
you see, is a term we have heard before. It refers ^g to two of the most important and trusted German
agents. We have come across their activities in
other countries and we know just a little about
them. It is their mission to organize a Fifth
' Column in foreign countries and to act as liaison
NORM? frr 11
officer between the country in question and Germany.
N, we know, is a man. M is a woman. All we know about them is that these two are Hitler's
most highly trusted agents and that in a code
message we managed to decipher towards the beginning
of the war there occurred this phrase-- Suggest N or Mfor England. Fullpowers--'1^. "I see. And Farquhar--" isl8
"As I see it, Farquhar must have got on the
track of one or other of them. Unfortunately we
don't know which. Song Susie sounds very cryptic
--but Farquhar hadn't a high class French accent!
There was a return ticket to Leahampton in his
pocket which is suggestive. Leahampton is on the
South coast--a budding Bournemouth or Torquay.
Lots of private hotels and guest houses.
Amongst them is one called Sans Souci--'' fewK Tommy said again: »»»?"" "Song Susie--Sans Souci--I see." &^ fc Grant said: , < '
"Do you?" <'.-- ^ / ^aAQ:^ - .x's "The idea is," Tommy said, "that I should go
there and--well--ferret round." : sy^w? "That is the idea.'' ly, ^. ^,
Tommy's smile broke out again-sfe * ^ "A bit vague, isn't it?" he asked. "I don't even
know what I'm looking for." ;%- "And
I can't tell you. I don't know. It's up to
you."
Tommy sighed. He squared his shoulders.
"I can have a shot at it. But I'm not a very
brainy sort of chap."
"You did pretty well in the old days, so I've
heard."
"Oh, that was pure luck," said Tommy hastily.
"Well, luck is rather what we need." ....
Agatha Christie
||||Tommy considered a minute or two. Then he
"said: --- SiySa.^^1-'-'^ fe^1 " About this place. Sans Souci--" |||
gg;M|Grant shrugged his shoulders. "A a" .^s
m"May be all a mare's nest. I can't tell. Farquhar
may have been thinking of 'Sister Susie's sewing
shirts for soldiers.' It's all guesswork."
B''And Leahampton itself?" ;
'"Just like any other of these places. There are
rows of them. Old ladies, old Colonels, unim- ;
peachable spinsters, dubious customers, fishy cus-
< tpmers, a foreigner or two. In fact, a mixedbag."
I^Tommy said doubtfully:
|ll"And N or M amongst them?'' Ite
"Not necessarily. Somebody, perhaps, who's in i touch with N or M. But it's quite likely to be N or
M themselves. It's an inconspicuous sort of place,
a boarding-house at a seaside resort."
^"You've no idea whether it's a man or a woman
f I've to look for?"
Grant shook his head. "rf<"' * > ^^
Tommy said:' 'Well, I can but try.'' fe s "Good luck to your trying, Beresford. Now--to
details--"
I Half an hour later, when Tuppence broke in,
i panting and eager with curiosity. Tommy was
alone, whistling in an armchair with a doubtful expression
on his face. |||i 1&.4& | "Well?" demanded Tuppence, throwing an in- ^g
finity of feeling into the word. &»^ W^"'1 "A job--of kinds.''y,^^^^-^^^^'1*8^ "What kind?" "- .i
| Tommy made a suitable grimace.
y, N OR M? H 13
"Office work in the wilds of Scotland. Hushhush
and all that, but doesn't sound very thrill-
"Both of us, or only you?"
"Only me, I'm afraid." & ^
"Blast and curse you. How could our Mr.
Carter be so mean?''
"I imagine they segregate the sexes in these
jobs. Otherwise, too distracting for the mind."
"Is it coding--or code breaking? Is it likely Deborah's job? Do be careful. Tommy; people
queer doing that and can't sleep; walk about aIliH
night groaning and repeating 978345286 or something
like that and finally have nervous breakdowns
and go into homes." |
"Not me." sssf'
Tuppence said gloomily: '9s"I
expect you will sooner or later. Can I come,
too--not to work but just as a wife? Slippers in
front of the fire and a hot meal at the end of the|
w
Tommy looked uncomfortable.^- ^ i.a»<fr I "Sorry, old thing. I am sorry. I hate leaving
y°"--"
"But you feel you ought to go," murmured ;;
Tuppence reminiscently. ^B |
"After all," said Tommy feebly, "ySS can knit,"' yonknow." www w
"Knit?" said Tuppence. "Knit?" &wSS^, ffff
Seizing her Balaclava helmet, she flung it on the
ground. B
"I hate khaki wool," said* Tuppence, "and Navy wool and Air Force blue. I should like to
knit something magenta!"
^ "It has a fine military sound," said Tommy.
"Almost a suggestion of Blitzkrieg." S'SJ
141'" Agatha Christie S^
AwlHe felt definitely very unhappy. Tuppence,
' ^ however, was a Spartan and played up well, admitting
freely that of course he had to take the job
and that it didn't really matter about her. She
»% added that she had heard they wanted someone to ^'q scrub down the First Aid Post floors. She might ^;:i possibly be found fit to do that.
Tommy departed for Aberdeen three days later.
Tuppence saw him off at the station. Her eyes
were bright and she blinked once or twice, but she
; ;i kept resolutely cheerful.
W Only as the train drew out of the station and
Tommy saw the forlorn little figure walking away
down the platform did he feel a lump in his own
throat. War or no War he felt he was deserting
Tuppence....
He pulled himself together with an effort.
Orders were orders.
Having duly arrived in Scotland, he took a train
the next day to Manchester. On the third day a
train deposited him at Leahampton. Here he went
to the principal Hotel and on the following day B^g made a tour of various private hotels and guest ^^B houses, seeing rooms and inquiring terms for a
long stay. ^3
Sans Souci was a dark red Victorian villa, set on
the side of a hill with a good view over the sea
from its upper windows. There was a slight smell
---- of dust and cooking in the hall and the carpet was
worn, but it compared quite favourably with some
of the other establishments Tommy had seen. He
interviewed the proprietress, Mrs. Perenna, in her
office, a small untidy room with a large desk
covered with loose papers.
Mrs. Perenna herself was rather untidy look?;
ing, a woman of middle-age with a large mop of
N OR M? jg% 15 K|
fiercely curling black hair, some vaguely applied
makeup and a determined smile showing a lot of
very white teeth.
Tommy murmured a mention of his elderly <|y^ cousin. Miss Meadowes, who had stayed at Sans ||g|
Souci two years ago. Mrs. Perenna remembered ^ Miss Meadowes quite well--such a dear old lady ^ _at least perhaps not really old--very active and |
such a sense of humour, tt ^
Tommy agreed cautiously. There was, he knew""'! a real Miss Meadowes--the Department was careful
about these points. ^,,;., , ,„,
And how was dear Miss Meadowes? Sp%^®B&
Tommy explained sadly that Miss Meadowes
was no more and Mrs. Perenna clicked her teeth |
sympathetically and made the proper noises and
put on a correct mourning face.
She was soon talking volubly again. She had,
she was sure, just the room that would suit Mr.
Meadowes. A lovely sea view. She thought-Mr.
Meadowes was so right to want to get out of
London. Very depressing nowadays, so she understood,
and of course, after such a bad go of influenza--

Still talking, Mrs. Perenna led Tommy upstairs
and showed him various bedrooms. She mentioned
a weekly sum. Tommy displayed dismay.
Mrs. Perenna explained that prices had risen so
appallingly. Tommy explained that his income
higlisunfortunately decreased and what with taxation and one thing and another-- ; ^
Mrs. Perenna groaned and said: '
"This terrible War-" Tommy
agreed and said that in his opinion that
fellow Hitler ought to be hanged. A madman,
that's what he was, a madman.
16 Agatha Christie
Mrs. Perenna agreed and said that what will
rations and the difficulty the butchers had in get
ting the meat they wanted--and sometimes to< much--and sweetbreads and liver practically dis
appeared, it all made housekeeping very difficult
but as Mr. Meadowes was a relation of Mis
Meadowes, she would make it half a guinea less.
Tommy then beat a retreat with the promise t(
think it over and Mrs. Perenna pursued him to thi ,^. gate, talking more volubly than ever and display Us ing an archness that Tommy found most alarm ^ ing. She was, he admitted, quite a handsomi
woman in her way. He found himself wonderinj what her nationality was. Surely not quite En
glish? The name was Spanish or Portuguese, bu
that would be her husband's nationality, not hers
She might, he thought, be Irish, though she ha(
no brogue. But it would account for the vitalit;
and the exuberance.
It was finally settled that Mr. Meadowes shouk
pi move in the following day.
Tommy timed his arrival for six o'clock. Mrs
Perenna came out into the hall to greet him, threv
a series of instructions about his luggage to ai almost imbecile-looking maid, who goggled a
Tommy with her mouth open, and then led him
into what she called the lounge.
"I always introduce my guests," said Mrs
Perenna, beaming determinedly at the suspiciou;
glares of five people. "This is our new arrival, Mr
11111 Meadowes--Mrs. O'Rourke." A terrifying moun
tain of a woman with beady eyes and a moustach* gave him a beaming smile.
--l "Major Bletchley." Major Bletchley ly'ec I Tommy appraisingly and made a stiff inclinatior
of the head.,, __
NORM? 17
"Mr. von Deinim." A young man, very stiff,
fair-haired and blue-eyed, got up and bowed. |||
"Miss Minton." An elderly woman with a lot of S beads, knitting with khaki wool, smiled and tittered.

"And Mrs. Blenkensop." More knitting--and
untidy dark head which lifted from an absorbed
contemplation of a Balaclava helmet.
Tommy held his breath; the room spun round.|j||
Mrs. Blenkensop! Tuppence! By all that was"
impossible and unbelievable--Tuppence, calmly
knitting in the lounge of Sans Souci.
Her eyes met his--polite uninterested stranger's
eyes. ': ^a, .;; ,-', .
His admiration rose." ggl gi§ 'I S'''1**^""'^""
How Tommy got through t
quite knew. He dared not 1
often in the direction of Mrs
ner three more habitues of
—a middle-aged couple—N<
and a young mother, Mrs. (
down with her baby girl fr<
clearly much bored by her (
hampton. She was placed n<
intervals fixed him with a pa
eyes and in a slightly ad<
"Don't you think it's rea
Everybody's going back, arei
Before Tommy could re
queries, his neighbor on the (
lady, struck in: "What I sa;
anything with children. Yoi
You'd never forgive yoursel
Hitler has said the Blitzkrieg
quite soon now—and quite
believe."
J Major Bletchley cut in shai
"Lot of nonsense talked a
won't waste time fiddling r
explosive and incendiary boi
done in Spain."
The whole table plunged ii
N OR M? 19
gusto. Tuppence's voice, high pitched and slightly
fatuous, piped out: g®^
"My son Douglas says--'' ? S
"Douglas, indeed," thought Tommy. "Why
Douglas, I should like to know."
After dinner, a pretentious meal of several
meagre courses, all of which were equally tasteless,
everyone drifted into the lounge. Knitting
was resumed and Tommy was compelled to hear a
long and extremely boring account of Major
Bletchley's experiences on the North West
Frontier. :gg^
The fair young man with the bright blue eyes
went out, executing a little bow on the threshold
of the room.
Major Bletchley broke off his narrative and administered
a kind of dig in the ribs to Tommy.. ||
"That fellow who's just gone out. He's a refugee.
Got out of Germany about a month before
the war." - ..„.„.„.,..-. . , „,.,,. ^, .
"He's a German?"
"Yes. Not a Jew, either. His father got into
trouble for criticizing the Nazi regime. Two of his
brothers are in a concentration camp over there.
This fellow got out just in time."
At this moment Tommy was taken possession
"III? Mrs' ^y^y' who told him at interminable le(||h all about her health. So absorbing was the
subject to the narrator that it was close upon bedtime
before Tommy could escape.
On the following morning Tommy rose early
and strolled down to the front. He walked briskly
to the pier and was returning along the esplanade
when he spied a familiar figure coming in the
other direction. Tommy raised his hat.
0 Agatha Christie
"Good morning," he said pleasantly. "Er_
Mrs. Blenkensop, isn't it?"
There was no one within earshot. Tuppence
replied: - - a^J r^
"Dr. Livingstone to you." afe?
"How on earth did you get here. Tuppence?"
murmured Tommy. "It's a miracle--an absolute
miracle."
"It's not a miracle at all--just brains." " *
"Your brains, I suppose?"
"You suppose rightly. You and your uppish
Mr. Grant. I hope this will teach him a lesson."
"It certainly ought to," said Tommy. "Come
on. Tuppence, tell me how you managed it. I'm
simply devoured with curiosity."
"It was quite simple. The moment Grant talked
of our Mr. Carter I guessed what was up. I knew it
wouldn't be just some miserable office job. But
his saying so showed me that I wasn't going to be
allowed in on this. So I resolved to go one better.
I went to fetch some sherry and, when I did, I
nipped down to the Browns' flat and rang up
Maureen. Told her to ring me up and what to say.
She played up loyally--nice high squeaky voice--
you could hear what she was saying all over the
room. I did my stuff, registered annoyance, compulsion,
distressed friend, and rushed off with
every sign of vexation. Banged the hall door, carefully
remaining inside it, and slipped into the bedroom
and eased open the communicating door
that's hidden by the tallboy."
' 'And you heard everything?''
"Everything," said Tuppence complacently.
Tommy said reproachfully: '. s^|
"And you never let on."
"Certainly not. I wished to teach you a lesson.
NORM? 21
""oil and your Mr. Grant."
"He's not exactly my Mr. Grant and I should
say you have taught him a lesson."
"Mr. Carter wouldn't have treated me so shabbily
" said Tuppence. "I don't think the Intelligence
is anything like what it was in our day."
Tommy said gravely:
"It will attain its former brilliance now we're
back in it. But why Blenkensop?".
"Why not?" '. ig^ss
"It seems such an odd name to choose."
"It was the first one I thought of and it's handy |
for underclothes." ^.^^a^^
"What do you mean. Tuppence?" ""* rite
"B, you idiot. B for Beresford, B for Blenkensop.
Embroidered on my cami-knickers. Patricia
Blenkensop. Prudence Beresford. Why did you
choose Meadowes? It's a silly name."
"To begin with," said Tommy, "I don't have
large B's embroidered on my pants. And to continue,
I didn't choose it. I was told to call myself
Meadowes. Mr. Meadowes is a gentleman with a
respectable past--all of which I've learned by
heart."
"Very nice," said Tuppence. "Are you married
or single?"
"I'm a widower," said Tommy with dignity.
"My wife died ten years ago at Singapore.'' He
g-Why at Singapore? " fe^
SWe've all got to die somewhere. What'swrong
wilfc Singapore?"
"Oh, nothing. It's probably a, most suitable
place to die. I'm a widow." ^ ,
Where did your husband die?'' -,*-? ..;
"Does it matter? Probably in a nursing home. I "therjancy he died of cirrhosis of the liver."
A Agatha Christie §1°
11 ':. '"
" |8 "I see. A painful subject. And what about your I H son Douglas?" HIB I" ' _ "Douglas is in the Navy." i,
® "So I heard last night." ^ ^;
"And I've got two other sons. Raymond is in ^
- the Air Force and Cyril, my baby, is in the Ter- g| ritorials."pj ; . .
"And suppose someone takes the trouble to -m |g| check up on these imaginary Blenkensops?"
"They're not Blenkensops. Blenkensop was my
second husband. My first husband's name was |
Hill. There are three pages of Hills in the ]
I telephone book. You couVn.'tcheckupon^l the I
T Vlt *f A " -t 99 ^^^B^'"6-'^^"' ^"^" ' ^Vl^"'-? yv!!''Stsiw^G: ^ i ' i
Hills if you tried - .. .^B'^w'i'?'"'*?'^"*^' fii'ffi^'y ' :"' :^
1 i «^»g ^g ^ trouble with you. Tuppence. You s | will overdo things. Two husbands and three sons. I'll K It's too much. You'll contradict yourself over the m
"No, I shan't. And I rather fancy the sons may's
^s^awSataes^ ' - - ^"K!aS
1||| come in useful. I'm not under orders, remember. |gg|
1% I'm a free-lance. I'm in this to enjoy myself and §i| vs& I'm going to enjoy myself. "^B IB
I "So it seems," said Tommy. He added gloom-B ^_J ny; "if you ask me, the whole thing's a farce.",, , | ' 'Why do you say that?" i?fe:iR. ,a "Well, you've been at Sans Souci longer than I ^ have. Can you honestly say you think any one of
those people who were there last night could be a r
*1| dangerous enemy agent?" H ^ Tuppence said thoughtfully: '^'tiff^^^S^^
"It does seem a little incredible, There's the ^|
young man, of course." N1 ' ''' ^S "Carl von Deinim? The police check up on m refugees, don't they?"
ii| "I suppose so. Still, it might be managed. He's
N OR M? 23
an attractive young man, you know."
"Meaning the girls will tell him things? But
what girls? No Generals' or Admirals' daughters
floating around here. Perhaps he walks out with a
Company Commander in the A.T.S." ^M
"Be quiet. Tommy. We ought to be taking this
seriously." ^
"I am taking it seriously. It's just that I feel
we're on a wild goose chase.'' ^.^ ^
Tuppence said seriously: "^ a
"It's too early to say that. After all, nothing's
going to be obvious about this business. What
about Mrs. Perenna?" ^?-,v: |
"Yes," said Tommy thoughtfuUy, "there's Mrs. Perenna, I admit--she does want explain-
^^'w-'-,^ "3.^7 ..: ^-:--r -: ' .''^^^^p?-'^;1 - ^"--..Ays
ing." .A
Tuppence said in a business-like tone:^ ;"What
about us? I mean, how are we going to
cooperate?"
Tommy said thoughtfully: ^;si& y ^^i-"''"' 5
"We mustn't be seen about too much to^
gether." g,,,. g| ||.^,,^
"No, it would Se fatal to suggest we know-each
other better than we appear to do. What we want j
to decide is the attitude. I think--yes, I think--18
pursuit is the best angle. "^^58 , -..-.^-.iifc^ "Pursuit?" ^-sa® , .
"Exactly. I pursue you. You do your best to
escape, but being a mere chivalrous mate doesn't
always succeed. I've had two husbands and I'm on
the look-out for a third. You act the part of the Tiunted widower. Every now and then I pin you
down somewhere, pen you in a cafe, catch you
walking on the front. Everyone sniggers and
thinks it very funny."
| "Sounds feasible," agreed Tommy.
4 T" Agatha Christie
Tuppence said: "There's a kind of age-long ^ humour about the chased male. That ought
cg|stand us in good stead. If we are seen together, all^
anyone will do is to snigger and say, 'Look at poor %oldMeadowes.' " lH gj
.Tommy gripped her arm suddenly, ill Vk &'l"Look," he said. "Look ahead of you." ys» By the corner of one of the shelters a young man ai stood talking to a girl. They were both very earn-^p; ^
est, very wrapped up in what they were saying. %|p^ & ^.glljTuppence said softly:
J^"Carl von Deinim. Who's the girl, I wonder?" ^
' - ----";''h^;
"She's remarkably good looking, whoever she
Tuppence nodded. Her eyes dwelt thoughtfully |
on the dark passionate face, and on the tight- 8
Hgglfc „'^-';',"». ~^
^^fitting pullover that revealed the lines of the girl's ^
^figure. She was talking earnestly, with emphasis.,^,®
^Carl von Deinim was listening to her. R^i^a^w^w®^*
'^SV^^^fflS'^^^*®^'
gggTuppence murmured:
"I think this is where you leave me." f^' _ "Right." agreed Tommy. ^
He turned and strolled in the opposite direction.S'
At the end of the promenade he encountered 8
IHMajor Bletchley. The latter peered at him suspi- 8
ciously and then grunted^out, "Good, morning." _J& | "Good morning." i& Ifff/Si ILp "See you're like me, an early riser," remarked S
*Bletchley. nm f .- Tommy said: " m I . waa^' ,. ^
"One gets in the habit of it out East. Of course,
that's many years ago now, but I still wake early. "I? >
_^"Quite right, too," said Major Bletchley with
approval. "God, these young fellows nowadays
_ make me sick. Hot baths--coming down to breaker
later. Noynder the Ger^
NORM? ^ 25
-S-rf;-" . ?,.';mans
have been putting it over on us. No stamina.
Soft lot of young pups. Army's not what it was,
anyway. Coddle 'em, that's what they do nowadays.
Tuck 'em up at night with hot water bottles.
Faugh! Makes me sick!" a K
Tommy shook his head in a melancholy fashion
and Major Bletchley, thus encouraged, went on.
"Discipline, that's what we need. Discipline.
How are we going to win the War without discipline?
Do you know, sir, some of these fellows
come on parade in slacks--so I've been told.
Can't expect to win a War that way. Slacks! My
God!" a ;:|i-'^ |g|% :-%| MB
§1 Mr. Meadowes hazarded the opinion that things
were very different from what they had been.
<^;
aa
"It's all this democracy," said Major Bletchley
gloomily. "You can overdo anything. In my opinion
they're overdoing the democracy business.
Mixing up the officers and the men, feeding ?N8S together in restaurants--Paugh!--the men don't %|
like it, Meadowes. The troops know. The troops
always know." «g gg
"Of course," said Mr. Meadowes, "I have no
real knowledge of Army matters myself--" ^ ^4
The Major interrupted him, shooting a quick
sideways glance.
"In the show in the last War?^!?^^1^^-^^
ifc'-fABi^'ftA^'^*-. ^sfe^"^;^&
"Oh, yes."
"Thought so. Saw you'd been drilled. Shoul- mg
ders. What regiment?" ^ ^'pf^
"Fifth Corfeshires." Tommy remembered to
produce Meadowes'military record. ^*
"Ah. yes, Salonica!"^!! ,
"Yes." " -^ fc-a^iji / : ^
I'll "I was in Mespot." -:'' ^*
Bletchley plunged into reminiscences. Tommy
i6 ""'m "sAgatha Christie ^ 1^
•aw •.' " y^ rtff
listened politely. Bletchley ended up wrathfully.
^ "And will they make use of me now? No, they
will not. Too old. Too old be damned. I could
teach one or two of these young cubs something m
| about war." ;gt 1§ Sl
"Even if it's only what not to do?" suggested
•."••:_' ?^^r ,;: ;'i'^'---^ ^yja^ ^Tf^ ;
Tommy with a smile. .A-.x^^^^,,, dl '"'^_'^
, "Eh, what's that?" •. H.
A sense of humour was clearly not Major |
I
g Bletchley *s strong suit. He peered suspiciously I
3 at his companion. Tommy hastened to change the l%:
conversation. ^
: "Know anything about that Mrs.—Blenkensop^y
g I think her name
US "That's right. Blenkensop. Not a bad looking i
S woman—bit long in the tooth—talks too much.
^ Nice woman, but foolish. No, I don't know her. |
| She's only been at Sans Souci a couple of days."J|
| He added: "Whydoyouask?"^,..p,,^.^,^^yy^
9. ;-i Tommy explained. ..-.aaS&&,.'
g "Happened to meet her just now. Wondered if
j she was always out as early as this?" m """
, "Don't know, I'm sure. Women aren't usually
given to walking before breakfast—thank God," g
B "Amen," said Tommy. He went on: "I'm not
I much good at making polite conversation before ^H
, breakfast. Hope I wasn't rude to the woman, but I
1 wanted my exercise." ^
Major Bletchley displayed instant sympathy, r
j "I'm with you, Meadowes. I'm with you.
| Women are all very well in their place, but not fss&
^ before breakfast." He chuckled a little. "Better be
careful, old man. She's a widow, you know."
"Is she?" ^%|3fe SK^Sl
The Major dug him cheerfully in the ribs. ial
m ^NbRM? 27 ,%
"M^e know what widows are. She's buried two
husbands and if you ask me, she's on the lookout
for number three. Keep a very wary eye open,
Meadowes. A wary eye. That's my advice.'' ? ^
And in high good humour Major Bletchley i% wheeled about at the end of the parade and set the
pace for a smart walk back to breakfast at Sans
Souci. *®
In the meantime. Tuppence had gently con- -
tinued her walk along the esplanade, passing quite ^
,'-^.y^''
close to the shelter and the young couple talking '
there. As she passed she caught a few words. It ^ was the girl speaking. %||j|8?;% t| '^: " ^
"But you must be careful, Carl. The very least 1||
suspicion--"®- iPH^-. %L : ':'
Tuppence was out of earshot. Suggestive
words? Yes, but capable of any number of harmless
interpretations. Unobtrusively she turned and
again passed the two. Again words floated to her.
"Smug, detestable English..."
The eyebrows of Mrs. Blenkensop rose ever so
slightly. "^ ^"^fi^'l
Hardly, she thought, a very wise conversation.
___ '.. '''t':,'!'^^3:.
Carl von Deinim was a refugee from Nazi persecution,
given asylum and shelter by England.
Neither wise nor grateful to listen assentingly to
such words. r;s::i ^ ^ ? ' '»fe
Again Tuppence turned. But this time, before
she reached the shelter, the couple had parted
abruptly, the girl to cross the road leaving the sea
front, Carl von Deinim to come along in Tuppence's
direction. ^ Hg
He would not, perhaps, have recognized ner but ?^ for her own pause and hesitation. Then quickly,
he brought his heels together and bowed. t%
Tuppence twittered at him. ^ sy ^
__ Agatha Christie ^
< < /^ ilS^b'
^ood morning, Mr. von Deinim, isn't it? Such
^^^ely morning." B tW "Ah, yes. The weather is fine." ^ .. J ^PPence ran on. ftl %1 i* (<It quite tempted me. I don't often come out -- ^ before breakfast. But this morning, what with not
sleeping very well--one often doesn't sleep well in a ^ange place, I find. It takes a day or two to ac- ^ custom oneself, I always say." ^"1 ^°h, yes, no doubt that is so."
'And really this little walk has quite given me
86 an appetite for breakfast."
"^ou go back to Sans Souci now? If you permit
I will walk with you." He walked gravely by her
side. ,,, _____
- ^"PPence said: sa M " s'"
J '' ^u also are out to get an appetite?'' ^ Gravely he shook his head. m fo
(t ^» -- '^^ :';,
_| ^h, no. My breakfast I have already had it. I f~~
H am on myway^o work." ----------------
^» '^^aresearchchemist."
So that's what you are, thought .Tuppence, I
baling a quick glance at him. fete« Carl von Deinim went on, his voice stiff. ^
. "^ came to this country to escape Nazi persecu- m.. tion. l ^^| ygry little money--no friends. I do now
what useful work I can." ^ ^
-^g ,-" He stared straight ahead of him.'
GQnscious of some undercurrent of strong feeling y |
--^^ng him powerfully. i| . 3S |
^ She murmured vaguely: ^ ^ ^ ™sil 'Oh, yes, I see. I see. Very creditable, I am^lllKt
^ure." ^ ^^ ,, ^ ..^.,.^.B ,
_ ^ carl yo" Deinim said: ^ ^K ^/ | "^ly two brothers are in concentration camps. Kr
N OR M? 29
^'..'.-s^
My father died in one. My mother died of sorrow ^ and fear." |p, ^ ^ _ gf^
^ Tuppence thought: - ' i^
"The way he says that--as though he had I
learned it by heart." - .; ''^
Again she stole a quick glance at him. He was
still staring ahead of him, his face impassive.
They walked in silence for some moments. Two
men passed them. One of them shot a quick glance
at Carl. She heard him mutter to his companion: n
"Bet you that fellow is a German." y^
Tuppence saw the colour rise in Carl von
Deinim's cheeks. B| g|
li? Suddenly he lost command of himself. That tide
of hidden emotion came to the surface. He stammered:

"You heard--you heard--that is what they say
_I_"
"My dear boy!" Tuppence reverted suddenly to I'll
her real self. Her voice was crisp and compelling.
"Don't be an idiot. You can't have it both ways."
ll He turned his head and stared at her.
Hi "What dn vnn mpfln?" SS8» M ^
gl. w iidi uu yuu iiicdii; ^fc-'-', ":'''^^"?' %%^^^^^^w'^m
"You're a refugee. You have to take the rough
with the smooth. You're alive, that's the main
thing. Alive and free. For the other--realize that
it's inevitable. This country's at War. You're a
German." She smiled suddenly. "You can't expect
the mere man in the street--literally the man
in the street--to distinguish between bad Germans
and good Germans, if I may put it so crudely."
He still stared at her. His eyes, so very blue,
were poignant with suppressed feeling. Then, suddenly,
he too smiled. He said: I'll Is
"They said of Red Indians, did they not, that a
good Indian was a dead Indian?" He laughed.
. a'"'1. ifSWiZ
',-'' fl'SW
t8 Agatha Christie
"Good morning, Mr. von Deinim, isn't it? Such
a lovely morning." ^<; ,;*> ;
^ "Ah, yes. The weather is fine." ||a :;;
Tuppence ran on. st"
"It quite tempted me. I don't often come out
before breakfast. But this morning, what with not
sleeping very well--one often doesn't sleep well in
a strange place, I find. It takes a day or two to accustom
oneself, I always say." ;;
,a"0h, yes, no doubt that is so." iB5s"
"And really this little walk has quite given me
an appetite for breakfast."
"You go back to Sans Souci now? If you permit
I will walk with you." He walked gravely by her
ii side. ^"i.;^ .^."^ ,,y
Tuppence said: """" A"-1 ' i^-.,--
"H^''You also are out to get an appet^?" - Siy
III Gravely he shook his head. |^|
1111 "Oh, no. My breakfast I have already had it. I
am on my way to work. "Ip
"Work?" -Bs ^;;i"%®, ^sa
'' I am a research chemist.'' ? ^
So that's what you are, thought Tuppence,
stealing a quick glance at him. |K|!
Carl von Deinim went on, his voice stiff.
"I came to this country to escape Nazi persecution.
I had very little money--no friends. I do now
what useful work I can."
He stared straight ahead of him. Tuppence was
conscious of some undercurrent of strong feeling
moving him powerfully. ^8 « | She murmured vaguely:
"Oh, yes, I see. I see. Very creditable, I am
; sure." @^w ,..,g^
I Carl von Deinim said: ^fi§^^
; "My two brothers are in concentration camps.
v father died in one. My mother died of sorrow
and fear." ,, g|g| %..
Tuppence thought: ^ |||
"The way he says that--as though he hadfiS
learned it by heart."
Again she stole a quick glance at him. He was
still staring ahead of him, his face impassive. |
They walked in silence for some moments. Two | men passed them. One of them shot a quick glance i
at Carl. She heard him mutter to his companion:
"Bet you that fellow is a German." ^ |%$IS|N
Tuppence saw the colour rise in Carl von llH^t
Deinim's cheeks. ^.^
Suddenly he lost command of himself. That tide ,51 of hidden emotion came to the surface. He stam^^,^ ^J
mered:
"You heard--you heard--that is what they say ;|
"My dear boy!" Tuppence reverted suddenly to
her real self. Her voice was crisp and compelling.
"Don't be an idiot. You can't have it both ways."
He turned his head and stared at her.
"What do you mean?" ^:^^ ^-^ -' -
"You're a refugee. You have to take the rough
with the smooth. You're alive, that's the main
thing. Alive and free. For the other--realize that
it's inevitable. This country's at War. You're a
German." She smiled suddenly. "You can't expect
the mere man in the street--literally the man
in the street--to distinguish between bad Germans
and good Germans, if I may put it so crudely."
He still stared at her. His eyes, so very blue.
were poignant with suppressed feeling. Then, suddenly.
he too smiled. He said^|| ^y-A
"They said of Red Indians, did they not, that a
good Indian was a dead Indian?" He laughed.
10 Agatha Christie - "To
be a good German I must be on time at my
work. Please. Good morning."
Again that stiff bow. Tuppence stared after his
retreating figure. She said to herself:
"Mrs. Blenkensop, you had a lapse then. Strict
attention to business in future. Now for breakfast
atSansSouci."
The hall door of Sans Souci was open. Inside,
Mrs. Perenna was conducting a vigorous conversation
with someone.
"And you'll tell him what I think of that last lot
of margarine. Get the cooked ham at Quiller's--it
was twopence cheaper last time there, and be
careful about the cabbages--'' ,
She broke off as Tuppence entered, i
"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Blenkensop, you are
an early bird. You haven't had breakfast yet. It's
all ready in the dining room." She added, indicating
her companion: "My daughter, Sheila. You
haven't met her. She's been away and only came
home last night."
Tuppence looked with interest at the vivid,
handsome face. No longer full of tragic energy,
bored now, and resentful. "My daughter Sheila.
Sheila Perenna."
Tuppence murmured a few pleasant words and
went into the dining room. There were three
people breakfasting--Mrs. Sprot and her baby
girl, and big Mrs. O'Rourke. Tuppence said,
"Good morning" and Mrs. O'Rourke replied
with a hearty, "The top of the morning to you"
that quite drowned Mrs. Sprot's more anaemic
salutation.
The old woman stared at Tuppence with a kind
of devouring interest. "^
NOftM? 31
" 'Tis a fine thing to be out walking before
breakfast," she observed. "A grand appetite it
gives you." ^ ;w.>^
Mrs. Sprot said to her offspring: ^- feSItt
"Nice bread and milk, darling," and endeavoured
to insinuate a spoonful into Miss Betty
Sprot's mouth.
The latter cleverly circumvented this endeavour ,.;
by an adroit movement of her head, and con- »
tinued to stare at Tuppence with large round eyes.
She pointed a milky finger at the newcomer,
gave her a dazzling smile and observed in gurgling |
tones: "Ga--GaBouch." a
"She likes you," cried Mrs. Sprot, beaming
on Tuppence as on one marked out for favour.
"Sometimes she's so shy with strangers.'' <;
"Bouch," said Betty Sprot. "Ah pooth
bag," she added with emphasis.
"And what would she be meaning by that?"
demanded Mrs. O'Rourke, with interest.
"She doesn't speak awfully clearly yet," confessed
Mrs. Sprot. "She's only just over two, you
know. I'm afraid most of what she says is just
Bosh. She can say Mama, though, can't you, darling?"

Betty looked thoughtfully at. hermotherland remarked with an air of
"Guggle bick."^| ""' ^ T^*'
*' 'Tis a language'bf their own they have, the
Hide angels," boomed out Mrs. O'Rourke. "Betty
dading, say Mama now."
Betty looked hard at Mrs. O'Rourke, frowned
and observed with terrific emphasis: "Nazer--" ^
"There now, if she isn't doing her best; And a
lovely sweet girl she is." ^
32 Agatha Christie
Mrs. O'Rourke rose, beamed in a ferocious
manner at Betty, and waddled heavily out of the room.
"Ga, ga ga," said Betty with enormous satisfaction,
and beat with a spoon on the table.
Tuppence said with a twinkle: 5
"What does Na-zer really mean?"
Mrs. Sprot said with a flush: "I'm afraid, yoi know, it's what Betty says when she doesn't like anyone or anything."
"I rather thought so," said Tuppence.
Both women laughed.
"After all," said Mrs. Sprot, "Mrs. 0'Rourk<
means to be kind but she is rather alarming--witt that deep voice and the beard and--and every
thing." ff^ ' |g §g|
With her head on one side Betty made a cooinj
noise at Tuppence.
"She has taken to you, Mrs. Blenkensop," sak
Mrs. Sprot.
There was a slight jealous chill. Tuppence fan
cied, in her voice. Tuppence hastened to adjus
matters.
"They always like a new face, don't they?" shi
said easily.
The door opened and Major Bletchley an< Tommy appeared. Tuppence became arch.
"Ah, Mr. Meadowes," she called out. "I'v
beaten you, you see. First past the post. But I'v
left you just a little breakfast!"
She indicated with the faintest of gestures th
seat beside her.
Tommy, muttering vaguely: "Oh, er--ratherthanks,"
and hurriedly sat down at the other eni
of the table.
Betty Sprot said "Putch!" with a fine splutte
NORM?

of milk at Major Bletchley, whose face instantly
assumed a sheepish but delighted expression.
"And how's little Miss Go Peep this morning?"
he asked fatuously. "Go Peep!" He enacted the
play with a newspaper. j|^ ^H$5;| a
Betty crowed with delight. f-1 s?& ^
Serious misgivings shook Tuppence. She
thought:
"There must be some mistake. There can't be
| anything going on here. There simply can't!"
To believe in Sans Souci as a headquarters of
the Fifth Column needed the mental equipment of
the White Queen in Alice.
On the sheltered terrace outside. Miss Minton was
knitting.
Miss Minton was thin and angular, her neck was
stringy. She wore pale sky-blue jumpers, and
chains or bead necklaces. Her skirts were tweedy
and had a depressed droop at the back. She
greeted Tuppence with alacrity.
"Good morning, Mrs. BIenkensop. I do hope
you slept well." '.
Mrs. BIenkensop confessed that she never slept ;
very well the first night or two in a strange bed. Miss
Minton said, "Now, wasn't that curious? It :
was exactly the same with me."
Mrs. BIenkensop said, "What a coincidence,
and what a very pretty stitch that was." Miss Min- i
ton, flushing with pleasure, displayed it. "Yes, it *
was rather uncommon, and really quite simple.
She could easily show it to Mrs. BIenkensop if ] Mrs. BIenkensop liked." "Oh, that was very kind
of Miss Minton, but Mrs. BIenkensop was so
stupid, she wasn't really very good at knitting, not
at following patterns, that was to say. She could
only do simple things like Balaclava helmets, and
even now she was afraid she had gone wrong somewhere.
It didn't look right, somehow, did it?"
Miss Minton cast an expert eye over the khaki
mass. Gently she pointed out just what had gone
wrong. Thankfully, Tuppence handed the faulty
f'^ N OR M? ' ' "•^•*j 35
helmet over. Miss Minton exuded kindness and
Ipatronage. "Oh, no, it wasn't a trouble at all. She
|had knitted for so many years.''
"I'm afraid I've never done any before this
dreadful War," confessed Tuppence. "But one
•feels so terribly, doesn't one, that one must do
^something." • Npi ^aA
"Oh, yes, indeed. And you actually have a boy
in the Navy, I think I heard you say last night?"
"Yes, my eldest boy. Such a splendid boy he
is—though I suppose a mother shouldn't say so.
Then I have a boy in the Air Force and Cyril, my
baby, is out in France."
"Oh, dear, dear, how terribly anxious youTmiist
Tuppence thought: s&<
"Oh. Derek. my darling Derek. . . . Out in the
hell and mess—and here I am playing the fool—
acting the thing I'm really feeling ..." ,
She said in her most righteous voice: '"'"
"We must all be brave, mustn't we? Let's hope
it will all be over soon. I was told the other day on
very high authority indeed that the Germans can't
possibly last out more than another two months."
Miss Minton nodded with so much vigour that
all her bead chains rattled and shook.
"Yes, indeed, and I believe"—her voice low- ,„
ered mysteriously—"that Hitler is suffering from t
a (fiscal—absolutely fatal—he'll be raving mad
byAugust." g^
•Tuppence replied briskly: '''"'"""': ""
"All this Blitzkrieg is just the Germans' last
effort. I believe the shortage is something frightful
"i Germany. The men in the factories are very
dissatisfied. The whole thing will crack up."
"What's this? What's all this?"
Sifi
H
. and Mrs. Cayley ca
Cayley putting his que;
Mr ,/himself in a chair and
tiec^taees. He repeated fretf
his What's that you are say
'' iVe're saying," said Mi
' c over by the Autumn.'
all l^onsense," said Mr.
*"" g to last at least six yeai
gof^Dh, Mr. Cayley," prot
'• ''t really think so?"
doa^^r. Cayley was peering a
^Wow I wonder," he n
' ght? Perhaps it would
dr»*ji back into the corner.'
ch^tie resettlement of Mr.
^1, an anxious-faced w
wif'^ no other aim in life t
haV^jey's wants, manipulat
Ca^^g from time to time
asle^td? Do you think that
AlC^ perhaps, to have you
yol-^r a glare this morning.
ratlHr. Cayley said irritably:
f^fo, no. Don't fuss. El
c "tuffler? No, no, my si
my ",i't matter. I daresay )
do^l don't want to get my
But111—in this sunlight—w
wo^^ fetch the other." H
bettt1 to matters of public in
bac^e it six years."
"I M' listened with pleasun
Icemen.
twc^jOu dear ladies are jus
''" wishful thinking. N01
cal-Hll
N OR M? 37
may say I know Germany extremely well. In the
course of my business before I retired I used to be
constantly to and fro. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich,
I know them all. I can assure you that Germany
can hold out practically indefinitely. With Russia
behind her--"
Mr. Cayley plunged triumphantly on, his voice
rising and falling in pleasurably melancholy cadences,
only interrupted when he paused to receive
the silk muffler his wife brought him and wind it
round his throat. |g| «^
Mrs. Sprot brought out Betty and plumped her
down with a small woolen dog that lacked an ear
and a woolly doll's jacket.
"There, Betty," she said. "You dress up Bonzo
ready for his walk while Mummy gets ready to go
out."
Mr. Cayley's voice droned on, reciting statistics
and figures, all of a depressing character. The monologue was punctuated by a cheerful twitter1
ing from Betty talking busily to Bonzo in her own
language. , ,, ....
"Truckle-- truckly-- pah bat," said Betty.
Then, as a bird alighted near her, she stretched out
loving hands to it and gurgled. The bird flew away
and Betty glanced round the assembled company
and remarked clearly:
' "Dicky," and nodded her head with great satisJactfon.
y
HH tfw ^^ '
E lhat child is learning to talk in the most wonderful
way," said Miss Minton. "Say Ta ta, Betty.
Tata."
Betty looked at her coldly and remarked:
"Gluck!" ',;. ^:
Then she forced Bonzo's one arm into his
_oolly coat and, toddling over to a chair, picked
38	HH	Agatha Christie
up the cushion and pushed Bonzo behind it.
Chuckling gleefully, she said with terrific pains: g|
"Hide! Bow wow. Hide." "
Miss Minton, acting as a kind of interpreter,
said with vicarious pride:
"She loves hide and seek. She's always hiding
things." She cried out with exaggerated surprise:
"Where is Bonzo? Where is Bonzo? Where can Bonzo have gone?" ? ^
Betty flung herself down and went into ecstasies
of mirth.
Mr. Cayley, finding attention diverted from his
explanation of Germany's methods of substitution |
of raw materials, looked put out and coughed aggressively.®8^?^

Mrs. Sprot came out with her hat on and picked
up Betty. ^. ^. ^ ggi. Attention returned to Mr. Cayley. SH
Sa; "You were saying, Mr. Cayley?" said Tuppence.
r
But Mr. Cayley was affronted. He said coldly: ^ : "That woman is always plumping that child
down and expecting people to look after it. I think
I'll have the woollen muffler after all, dear. The
>, MM
sun is going in.
"Oh, but, Mr. Cayley, do go on with what you
were telling us. It was so interesting," Miss Minton
begged.
Mollified, Mr. Cayley weightily resumed his discourse,
drawing the folds of the woolly muffler
closer round his stringy neck.
"As I was saying, Germany has so perfected her
system of--"
j|| Tuppence turned to Mrs. Cayley, and asked:
"What do you think about the^war, Mrs.
Cayley?"
N OR M? 39
Mrs. Cayley jumped.
"Oh, what do I think? What--what do you
mean?" ^ ^
"Do you think it will last as long as six years?"
Mrs. Cayley said doubtfully:
"Oh, I hope not. It's a very long time, isn't it?"
"Yes, a long time. What do you really think?"
Mrs. Cayley seemed quite alarmed by the question.
She said: .'^jiss^ 'Ap* |
"Oh, I--I don't know. I don't know at all.
Alfred says it will." ^ j^
"But you don't think so?" SS »
"Oh, I don't know. ,It^s ^difficult to say, isn't
I19" te'&Si'.^^:.-^-"^!^.
Tuppence felt a wave of exasperation. The chirruping
Miss Minton, the dictatorial Mr. Cayley,
the nitwitted Mrs. Cayley--were these people
really typical of her fellow countrymen? Was Mrs.
Sprot any better with her slightly vacant face and
boiled gooseberry eyes? What could she. Tuppence,
ever find out here? Not one of these
people, surely--
Her thought was checked. She was aware of a
shadow. Someone behind her who stood between
her and the sun. She turned her head. : ^;a
Mrs. Perenna, standing on the terrace, her eyes
on the group. And something in those eyes--
scorn, was it? A kind of withering contempt. Tuppence
thought:
I must find out more about Mrs. Perenna.
40 III Agatha Christie ifc
"Brought down some golf clubs with you, : didn't you, Meadowes?" ^ H| : Tommy pleaded guilty. - B^
"Ha! I can tell you, my eyes don't miss much.
Splendid! We must have a game together. Ever
played on the links here?''
Tommy replied in the negative.
"They're not bad--not bad at all. Bit on the
short side, perhaps, but lovely view over the sea
and all that. And never very crowded. Look here,
what about coming along with me this morning?
We might have a game." ^
"Thanks very much. I'd like it." " """ "Must say I'm glad you've arrived," remarked
, Bletchley as they were trudging up the hill. "Too I many women in that place. Gets on one's nerves.
Glad I've got another fellow to keep me in countenance.
You can't count Cayley--the man's a
kind of walking chemist's shop. Talks of nothing
but his health and the treatments he's tried and the
drugs he's taking. If he threw away all his little pill
boxes and went out for a good ten mile walk every I day he'd be a different man. The only other male
I in the place is von Deinim, and to tell you the ; truth, Meadowes, I'm not too easy in my mind s about him." I "No?" said Tommy.
"No. You take my word for it, this refugee
business is dangerous. If I had my way I'd intern
the lot of them. Safety first.'' ^IJB %H
"A bit drastic, perhaps." M" ----
"Not at all. War's War. And I've got my suspicions
of Master Carl. For one thing, he's clearly
not a Jew. Then he came over here just a month
--only a month, mind you--before War broke
i out. That's a bit suspicious." |
g ^ ^ ^ ^ ' ^ ^ ^ '"
Tommy said invitingly:
"Then you think--" > ' "Spying-- that's his li^ie game!"
"But surely there's nc,f»,,no r>f .
J" ruling 01 &rpat inilitari? <>..
^ naval importance hereabouts?" """tary or
"Ah, old man, tha^s where _thPortsmouth
he'd be und^r sunerv'i"^ plymouth or ^
place like this. nobody boZTs F'In a sleepy ' ? coast, isn't it? The truth o^6"1 Irs on the I S. a great deal too easy Mth hes^ ernment is ^
1 Anyone who cared could ^lCTe ^ ^"s.
-, a long face and talk abc^^ -d pull a
A-centration camps. Loo^^0^111^- ,3
fe arrogance in every line S ^. ^? ,11^. 1
--that's what he is--a Nazi " "e s a Nazl
"What we really need ,„ fi,,. „„,, . SU '"." ., -
F doctor or two " said Toff ? untry is a witch 1^ 1
I.1 "ocior or iwo, saia i on:my pleasantiu taM_|
I' "Eh, what's that?" %: mly- W^^ " "To smell out the sp|pc " Tnr», x S gravely. ' onlmy explained j^ |
"Ha, very good that-_yerv eo^ o „ . ^ i
out-yes, of course." y g od- sme11 em ^ 1
|1 Further conversation w,, hrrtiioti* < 1" they had arrived at the clu^8111 to an end. ^
Tommy's name was pi^ (jq^ 3 ------------------------
their round. ---lor started on
Tommy was a mediocn pnlfcr^^ -- -
niiu mai ilia BiailualU 01 pav wa<i in»» ^ o- - "
for his new friend. The M-^onb; "g
IJU1 WUIl dv two lin any!
one to play, a very happy Sate of events
"Good match, Meada/es „--„ ' ,
-you had bad luck wiLh^'^Z.?0011 mtch
42 Agatha Christie ^B ?'3:
turned off at the last minute. We must have a
game fairly often. Come along and I'll introduce
you to some of the fellows. Nice lot on the whole;
some of them inclined to be rather old women, if
you know what I mean? Ah, here's Haydock--
you'll like Haydock. Retired naval wallah. Has
that house on the cliff next door to us. He's our
local A.R.P. warden." |||
Commander Haydock was a big hearty man
with a weatherbeaten face, intensely blue eyes,
and a habit of shouting most of his remarks. ^. w» ; He greeted Tommy with friendliness. ; ^;aBB|
"So you're going to keep Bletchley countenance
at Sans Souci? He'll be glad of another man.
Rather swamped by female society, eh, Bletchiey?"
is sb . a
"I'm not much of a ladies' man," said Major
Bletchley.
"Nonsense," said Haydock. "Not your type
of lady, my boy, that's it. Old boarding house
pussies. Nothing to do but gossip and knit."
"You're forgetting Miss Perenna," said Bletch-1
ley. ^ I
"Ah, Sheila--she's an attractive girl all right. S
Regular beauty if you ask me." y. "I'm a bit worried about her," said Bletchley. | s "What do you mean? Have a drink. Meadowes?
What's yours. Major?" n;
The drinks ordered and the men settled on the8 jverandah of the clubhouse, Haydock repeated his
"question. ( Major Bletchley said with some violence: I.??
"That German chap. She's seeing too much of
him."..:,
| "Getting sweet on him, you mean? H'm, that's
bad. Of course he's a good looking young chap in
^ , NORM? 43
his way. But it won't do. It won't do, Bletchley.
We can't have that sort of thing. Trading with the
enemy, that's what it amounts to. These girls--
where's their proper spirit? Plenty of decent
young English fellows about." »
Bletchley said: > ;<
"Sheila's a queer girl--she gets odd sullen fits
when she will hardly speak to anyone."
"Spanish blood," said the Commander. "Her
father was half Spanish, wasn't he?"
"Don't know. It's a Spanish name, I should
think." ; :,:,,,^,,
The Commander glanced at his watch. '
"About time for the news. We'd better go in
andlisten'toit." I ||g
The news was meagre that day, little more in it
than had been already in the morning papers.
After commenting with approval on the latest exploits
of the Air Force--first-rate chaps, brave as
lions--the Commander went on to develop his
own pet theory--that sooner or later the Germans
would attempt a landing at Leahampton itself--
his argument being that it was such an unimportant
spot.
"Not even an anti-aircraft gun in the place! Disgraceful!"
^. H allfl
The argument was not developed, for Tommy
and the Major had to hurry back to lunch at Sans
Souci. Haydock extended a cordial invitation to
Tommy to come and see his little place, "Smugglers'
Rest." "Marvellous view--my own beach--
every kind of handy gadget in the house. Bring
him along, Bletchley."
It was settled that Tommy and Major Bletchley
should come in for drinks on the evening of the
following day.
Aptha Christie
After lunch was i peaceful time at Sans Souci.
Mr. Cayley went t» have his "rest" with the devoted
Mrs- Cayley in attendance. Mrs. Blenkensop
was conductedby Miss Minton to a depot to
pack and address pircels for the Front.
Mr. Meadowes strolled gently out into Lea
cigarettes,
SlUppcv ai ^>....v.. „ ., ,.
latest number of Punch, then after a few minutes
of apparent irresolution, he entered a bus bearing
the legend old pieh. gg| g||
The old pier was at the--^-'-^----'^^-11"^
pi V11A^X»»*.
to house agents as the least desirable end. It was
West Leahampton and poorly thought of. Tommy " ' ^-L -- ^" »"" iiwasa
H""- ~i-
flimsy and weather-worn affair with a few mon-
-- - l. ,1^----J ^tt^CnE die-
UU11U p^;n»»/ --
tant intervals. There was no one on it but some
children running up and down and screaming in
voices that matched quite accurately the screaming
of the gulls, and one solitary man sitting on the
end fishing. I'l USi Mr. Meadowes strolled up'to the end and gazed
down into the watier. Then he asked gently:
H "Caught anythiing?" ^ ; |g
"" The fisherman sshook his head. ^
"Don't often g^et a bite." Mr. Grant reeled in
his line a bit. He s.aid without turning his head:
"What about yrou, Meadowes?"
i Tommy said:
"Nothing muchh to report as yet, sir. I'm digging
myself in." |1| - _"Good^Tellmae"
.-^"N OR M? fSpj 45
Tommy sat on an adjacent post, so placed that ,y»,
he commanded the length of the pier.,^Then he S^l
began.
"I've gone down quite all right, I think. I gather |
you've already got a list of the people there?" jg^ Grant nodded. "There's nothing to report as yet. SB! I've struck up a friendship with Major Bletchley.
We played golf this morning. He seems the ordinary
type of retired officer. If anything, a shade
too typical. Cay ley seems a genuine hypochondriacal
invalid. That, again, would be an easy part
to act. He has, by his own admission, been a good
deal in Germany during the last few years."
"A point," said Grant, laconically.
"Then there's von Deinim." ||||
"Yes. I don't need to tell you, Meadowes, that
~von Deinim's the one I'm most interested in."
K "You think he's N?" p^ ^ss,,. "ara® Grant shook his head. 8&1 sasfe:'
"No, I don't. As I see it, N couldn't afford to
be a German." ||| ||§ i-'I^B?!!;'1^ "Not a refugee from Nazi persecution, event"
"Not even that. We watch, and they know we
watch, all the enemy aliens in this country. Moreover--this
is in confidence, Beresford--very a shortly all enemy aliens between 16 and 60 will be
interned. Whether our adversaries are aware of
that fact or not, they can at any rate anticipate
that such a thing might happen. They would never
risk the head of their organization being interned.
N, therefore, must be either a neutral--or else he
is (apparently) an Englishman. The same, of
course, applies to M. No, my meaning about von
Deinim is this: He may be a link in the chain. N or y
M may not be at Sans Souci, it may be Carl von
Deinim who is there and through him we may be
46 ^Agatha Christie
led to our object^- That does seem to be highly
possible. The mfi16 so as I cannot very well see
that any of the (Other inmates of Sans Souci are
likely to be the person we are seeking."
"You've had (them more or less investigated, I
suppose, sir?"
Grant sighed--"a sharp quick sigh of vexation.
"No that's ji/st wnat lt>s impossible for me to
do. I could hav<e them looked up by the department
easily enough--but I can't risk it. Beresford. For you see th1® rot is in the department itself.
One hint that 1'^ go1 "^ ^ on sans souci fm any reason--an^ the organization may be put ^ wise. That's wr1"® Y011 come in, the outsider. |
That's why you''^ got to work in the dark, without
help from i1"- It's our only chance-- and I
daren't risk alar""^them- There's only one person
I've been ablle to check up on." ^ "Who's that, sir?"
Grant smiled. 'w "Carl von De1111111 himself. That's easy enough.
Routine. I can tfa^ him looked up--not from the'
Sans Souci an.gic' ^t from the enemy alien ;
angle." ""®? '^'- ^
^ Tommy askeci curiously: ^ ^.l ^
^ "Andtheres^t7"
A curious sm?10 came over the other's face.
"Master Cartls exactly what he says he is. His
father was indi^c1'^!) was arrested and died in a
concentration c^"1?- Carol's elder brothers are in
camps. His mother died in great distress of mind a
year ago. He epcaped to England a month before
war broke out. von Deinim has professed himself^ anxious to hel^P this country. His work in a^'
chemical research laboratory has been excellent'
and most helpN on the problem of immunizing
^^
Ip* '"% .^- .vnorm? ^ 47
certain gases and in general decontamination experiments."
..^Hl
Tommy said: S^a
gg "Then he's all right?"""" B® "Not necessarily. Our German friends are notorious
for their thoroughness. If von Deinim was
sent as an agent to England special care would be
taken that his record should be consistent with his
own account of himself. There are two possibilities.
The whole von Deinim family may be parties
to the arrangement--not improbable under
the painstaking Nazi regime. Or else this is not
really Carl von Deinim but a man playing the part
of Carl von Deinim.'' S |
Tommy said slowly: "Isee." He added inconsequently:
,* ;^ "He seems an awfully nice young fellow." ''Sighing,
Grant said: "They are--they nearly
always are. It's an odd life this service of ours. We |
respect our adversaries and they respect us. .You
usually like your opposite number, you know- even when you're doing your best to down him."
There was a silence as Tommy thought over the
strange anomaly of war. Grant's voice Jbroke into
his musings. . ||p K "But there are those for whom we've neither
respect nor liking--and those are the traitors within
our own ranks--the men who are willing to betray
their country and accept office and promotion
from the foreigner who has conquered it."
Tommy said with feeling: ^ill'*,?® "My God, I'm with you, sir. That's a skunk's
trick." gp
"And deserves a skunk's end." ®?s^"j;tKs%;
Tommy said incredulously: Siss-- ^a&iSi
"And there really are these--these swine?"
48 Agatha Christie
"Everywhere. As I told you. In our service. In
the fighting forces. On Parliamentary benches.
High up in the Ministries. We've got to comb
them out--we've got to! And we must do it
quickly. It can't be done from the bottom--the
small fry, the people who speak in the Parks, who
sell their wretched little news-sheets, they don't
know who the big bugs are. It's the big bugs we
want, they're the people who can do untold damage--and
will do it unless we're in time." ?
Tommy said confidently: ^p* ™ ^?f
"We shall be in time, sir." *"* ^- y^a" -, |*S
.., Grant asked:' ^?at, ...,,;%?
"What makes you say that?" 8% l|^, ^1;:
Tommy said: ';11'
"You've just said it--we've got to be!"
The man with the fishing line turned and looked
full at his subordinate for a minute or two, taking
in anew the quiet resolute line of the jaw. He had a
new liking and appreciation of what he saw. He
said quietly: ' -^y^1 te&a^
"Good man." %a»} I He
went on:
"What about the women in this place? Anything
strike you as suspicious there?"
"I think there's something odd about the
woman who runs it."
"Mrs. Perenna?" VSS
"Yes. You don't--know anything about her?"
Grant said slowly:
"I might see what I could do about checking her
antecedents, but as I told you, it's risky."
"Yes, better not take any chances. She's the
only one who strikes me as suspicious in any way.
There's a young mother, a fussy spinster, the
hypochondriac's brainless wife, and a rather fearI N OR M? 49
^ni, looking old Irish-woman. All seem harmless ^owh on the face of it." y :^'S I'that's the lot, is it?" ||
"t(o. There's a Mrs. Blenkensop-- arrived three
^ago." -
;.m "Veil?" - ^<-^W "^!™ '» ya ^nuny said: 8^,.,^NI&_,., |g|
1| "4rs. Blenkensop is my wife." ^ |gg
^ the surprise of the anntmncenient Grant'?" vok( was raised. He spun around, sharp anger in his hze. "I thought I told you, Beresford, not to ^the a word to your wife!"
"<)uite right, sir, and I didn't. If you'll just
lister" i^ISi"
Sliccinctiy, Tommy narrated what had oc- i^ cu"6d. He did not dare look at the other. He &SS ^^fully kept out of his voice the pridejhat.he
secr^iy felt. ''-.fe^-^^iJ I
IH ^here was a silence when he brought the story to an end. Then a queer noise escaped from the 8
oth^r. Grant was laughing. He laughed for some
min(ites.
"(take my hat off to the woman! She's one in a
thousand!'' . , ,^1
"(agree," said Tommy. - * ' " '"";: w^.'^ "gasthampton will laugh when I tell him this. "1TS s He earned me not to leave her out. Said she'd get
the getter of me if I did. I wouldn't listen to him. ^i^P^ you. though, how damned careful you've
8^j <o be. I thought I'd taken every precaution
a|»li»st being overheard. I'd satisfied myself ^ b^Qfehand that you and your wife were alone in '
the f|at. I actually heard the voice in the telephone
ai|irf8 Your wife to come round at once, and ^
---- , .™R..Aj.--_» . ,.... , ...
52 Agatha Christie
Tuppence replied that she thought she was
going to like Leahampton very much, and be
happy there.
"That is," she added in a melancholy voice, "as
happy as I can be anywhere with this terrible anxiety
weighing on me all the time."
"Ah, now, don't you be worrying yourself,"
Mrs. O'Rourke advised comfortably. "Those fine
boys of yours will come back to you safe and
sound. Not a doubt of it. One of them's in the Air
Force, so I think you said?" ^,
"Yes, Raymond." a^ ' 'And is he in France now, or in England?'' :
"He's in Egypt at the moment, but from whatj
he said in his last letter--not exactly said--but we
have a little private code if you know what I;
mean?--certain sentences mean certain things. I;
think that's quite justified, don't you?" ^ Mrs. O'Rourke replied promptly:
"Indeed and I do. 'Tis a mother's privilege."
"Yes, you see I feel I must know just where he§J
is." . IP KB
Mrs. O'Rourke nodded the Buddha-like head.
"I feel for you entirely, so I do. If I had a boy
out there I'd be deceiving the censor the very same
way, so I would. And your other boy, the one in
the Navy?"
Tuppence entered obligingly upon a saga of
Douglas.
"You see," she ended. "I feel so lost without
my three boys. They've never been all away together
from me before. They're all so sweet to me.
I really do think they treat me more as a friend than a mother." She laughed self-consciously. "I
have to scold them sometimes and make them g(
out without me."
N OR M? 53
("What a pestilential woman I sound," thought
Tuppence to herself.)
She went on aloud.
"And really I didn't know quite what to do or
where to go. The lease of my house in London was
up and it seemed so foolish to renew it and I
thought if I came somewhere quiet, and yet with a
good train service—" She broke off. .,-y,
Again the Buddha nodded. SBl
"I agree with you entirely. London is no place
at the present. Ah! the gloom of it! I've lived there
myself for many a year now. I'm by way of being
an antique dealer, you know. You may know my
shop in Cornaby Street, Chelsea? Kate Kelly's the
name over the door. Lovely stuff I had there,
too—oh, lovely stuff—mostly glass—Waterford,
Cork—beautiful. Chandeliers and lustres and
punchbowls and all the rest of it. Foreign glass,
too. And small furniture—nothing large—just
small period pieces—mostly walnut and oak. Oh,
lovely stuff—and I had some good customers. But
there, when there's a War on, all that goes west.
I'm lucky to be out of it with as little loss as I've
had."
A faint memory flickered through Tuppence's
mind. A shop filled with glass, through which it
was difficult to move, a rich persuasive voice, a
compelling massive woman. Yes, surely, she had
been into that shop. aH
Mrs. O'Rourke went on. "
"I'm not one of those that like to be always
complaining—not like some that's in this house.
Mr. Cayley for one, with his muffler and his
shawls and his moans about his business going to
pieces. Of course it's to pieces, there's a War
on—and his wife with never Boo to say to a goose.
54 ;^1. Agatha Christie -^^'"y. '"^
Then there's that little Mrs. Sprot, always fussing
about her husband."
"Is he out at the front?" J^s^^
' , '?T"f'-,/--''(;;^;.
"Not he. He's a tuppenny-halfpenny clerk in an
insurance office, that's all, and so terrified of air
raids he's had his wife down here since the beginning
of the War. Mind you, I think that's right
where the child's concerned--and a nice wee mite
she is--but Mrs. Sprot, she frets, for all that her
husband conies down when he can. ... Keeps say- >.
ing Arthur must miss her so. But if you ask me | Arthur's not missing her over-much--maybe he's ? got other fish to fry." ,,„„... ^ ^
Tuppence murmured: ||| .--
"I'm terribly sorry for all these mothers. If you g let your children go away without you, you never :M stop worrying. And if you go with them it's hard
on the husbands being left."
"Ah! yes, and it comes expensive running two
establishments." i'S'll-^^ fSS-
"This place seems quite reasonable," said Tuppence.
,
"Yes, I'd say you get your money's worth.88
Mrs. Perenna's a good manager. There's a queer
woman for you now." S&^ '
"In what way?'' asked Tuppence. |H g§/
Mrs. O'Rourke said with a twinkle:' j| "You'll be thinking I'm a terrible talker. It's
|||true. I'm interested in all my fellow creatures,
that's why I sit in this chair as often as I can. You
see who goes in and who goes out and who's on
the verandah and what goes on in the garden.
What were we talking of now--ah, yes, Mrs.
IH Perenna, and the queerness of her. There's been a
grand drama in that woman's life or I'm much
mistaken." ^
^ NORM? 55
"Do you really think so?"
"I do now. And the mystery she makes of
; herself! 'And where might you come from in Ki Ireland?' I asked her. And would you believe it,
she held out on me, declaring she was not from
Ireland at all." ^;R^ --
,; "You think she is Irish?" -~ "Of
course she's Irish. I know my own country
women. I could name you the county she comes
from. But there! 'I'm English,' she says, 'and my
husband was a Spaniard'--"
Mrs. O'Rourke broke off abruptly as Mrs.
Sprot came in, closely followed by Tommy.
Tuppence immediately assumed a sprightly
manner, a^?
"Good evening, Mr. Meadowes. You look very
brisk this evening." ^s^ '^'Illr^ .-- ^.
Tommy said: itoa...... „
"Plenty of exercise, that's the secret. A round
of golf this morning and a walk along the front
this afternoon." ^ ; -^
Millicent Sprot said:
"I took Baby down to the beach this afternoon.
She wanted to paddle but I really thought it was
rather cold. I was helping her build a castle and a
dog ran off with my knitting and pulled out yards
of it. So annoying, and so difficult picking up all
the stitches again. I'm such a bad knitter."
H "You're getting along fine with that helmet,
Mrs. Blenkensop," said Mrs. O'Rourke, suddenly
turning her attention to Tuppence. "You've been
just racing along. I thought Miss Minton said that
you were an inexperienced knitter."
Tuppence flushed faintly. Mrs. O'Rourke's eyes
were sharp. With a slightly vexed air, Tuppence
56 I'll; Agatha Christie ^s^':,
"I have really done quite a lot of knitting. I told
Miss Minton so. But I think she likes teaching people."

Everybody laughed in agreement, and a few
minutes later the rest of the party came in and.^he
gong was sounded. ??
The conversation during the meal turned on the
absorbing subject of spies. Well-known hoary
chestnuts were retold. The nun with the muscular
arm; the clergyman descending from his parachute
and using unclergymanlike language as he landed
with a bump; the Austrian cook who secreted a
wireless in her bedroom chimney; and all the
things that had happened or nearly happened to
aunts and second cousins of those present. That
led easily to Fifth Column activities. To denunciations
of the British Fascists, of the Communists,
of the Peace Party, of conscientious objectors. It
was a very normal conversation, of the kind that
may be heard almost every day, nevertheless Tuppence
watched keenly the faces and demeanour of
the people as they talked, striving to catch some
tell-tale expression or word. But there was nothing.
Sheila Perenna alone took no part in the conversation,
but that might be put down to her
habitual taciturnity. She sat there, her dark rebellious
face sullen and brooding.
Carl von Deinim was out tonight.^so tongues
could be quite unrestrained, ill ^ ||V I Sheila only spoke once towards the end of diner.

Mrs. Sprot had just said in her thin fluting
voice:
"Where I do think the Germans made such a
mistake in the last war was to shoot Nurse Cavell.
It turned everybody against them."
N OR M? 57
It was then that Sheila, flinging back her he^'
demanded in her fierce young voice: "^lv shouldn't they shoot her? She was a spy, wa^1'1 she?"
"Oh, no, not a spy.''
"She helped English people to escape--in ^n
enemy country. That's the same thing. W^Y shouldn't she be shot?"
I "Oh, but shooting a woman--and a nurse." *"|
|;^ Sheila got up.
fefr; «j think the Germans were quite right," she said.
She went out of the window into the garden. ?
Dessert, consisting of some under-ripe bananas
and some tired oranges, had been on the tal^c some time. Everyone rose and adjourned to the lounge for coffee.
Only Tommy unobtrusively betook himself to the garden. He found Sheila Perenna leaning over ft the terrace wall staring out at the sea. He caH^ and stood beside her. "W
By her hurried, quick breathing he knew that (., something had upset her badly. He offered her a
|fc cigarette, which she accepted.
He said: ^ ^ %"Lovely
night." '*'::35| ^ S|
In a low intense voice the girl answered:
"It could be...."
Tommy looked at her doubtfully. He felt, suddenly,
the attraction and the vitality of this girl- There was a tumultuous life in her, a kind of compelling
power. She was the kind of girl, he thought, that a man might easily lose his head
over.
, "If it weren't for the War, you mean?" he said- g&"I don't mean that at all, I hate the War."
8 w^ ">:' Agatha Christie Hi-' ' " |p
--:'. ^'^^saC ; .;- ^y?
^ ^ "So do we all."
l^ftJS "Not in the way I mean. I hate the cant about it,
|j££ the smugness--the horrible, horrible patriotism."
"Patriotism?" Tommy was startled.
"""" "Yes, I hate patriotism, do you understand? All
this country, country, country! Betraying your
country--dying for your country--serving your
country. Why should one's country mean any& thing at all?"
aaJg Tommy said simply: "I don't know. It just 1%;
as does." &:
"Not to me! Oh, it would to you--you go
abroad and buy and sell in the British Empire and * J come back bronzed and full of cliches, talking [_
about the natives and calling for Chota Pegs and yS, all that sort of thing." ^ -BK Tommy said gently: '-^ s-i^Q
"I'm not quite as bad as that, I hope, my dear." filf ; "I'm exaggerating a little--but you know what __ s I mean. You believe in the British Empire--and--
and--the stupidity of dying for one's country."
t ^ "My country," said Tommy drily, "doesn't |g^
^ys seem particularly anxious to allow me to die for |||
'SSff: "t »
l^'.'r. ll. ilp^-
"Yes, but you want to. And it's so stupid! ik Nothing's worth dying for. It's all an (ctea--talk--
| froth--high-flown idiocy. My country doesn't g;
| mean anything to me at all." pounds
"Some day," said Tommy, "you'll be surprised
to find that it does.''
"No. Never. I've suffered--I've seen--" %|||
She broke off--then turned suddenly and impetuously
upon him.
ggg '' Do you know who my father was?'' ^ -;
Bals "No." Tommy's interest quickened. :
"His name was Patrick Maguire, He--he was a
NORM? ' 55
follower of Casement in the last War. He was shot
as a traitor! All for nothing! For an idea--he
worked himself up with those other Irishmen.
Why couldn't he just stay at home quietly and
mind his own business? He's a martyr to some
people and a traitor to others. I think he was ^ just--stupid!"
I Tommy could hear the note of pent-up rebellion
coming out into the open. He said: '
"So that's the shadow you've grown up with?"
"Shadow's right. Mother changed her name. r. We lived in Spain for some years. She always says
Hthat my father was half a Spaniard. We always tell ^ lies wherever we go. We've been all over the Continent.
Finally we came here and started this place.
gc I think this is quite the most hateful thing we've "doneyet." „ -.-...^ ,' - Tommy asked: " ' "';" '^ "'-' ^ "How does yourmother feel about--things?"
"You mean--about my father's death." Sheila
| was silent a moment frowning, puzzled. She said
slowly: "I've never really known . . . she never
talks about it. It's not easy to know what mother
feels or thinks."
Tommy nodded his head thoughtfully. ^ ^^.ajn
Sheila said abruptly: < "I--I don't know why I've been telling you this.
I got worked up. Where did it all start?" 'p^';'
a "A discussion on Edith Cavell." Aa^ i "Oh, yes--patriotism. I said I hated it."
"Aren't you forgetting Nurse Cavell's own
words?" * "What words?"
"Before she died. Don't you know what she
said?" --
He repeated the words: ^ ;' t '
60 Agatha Christie ^^
^:. -y
"Patriotism is not enough . . . I must have no |k p
hatred in my heart." &". "Oh." She stood there stricken for a moment. ^ Then, turning quickly, she wheeled away into
the shadow of the garden,.„,„ ^ ^ |
sjdf^ '' So you see, Tuppence, it would all fit in."
BUS Tuppence nodded thoughtfully. The beach
around them was empty. She herself leaned
against a breakwater, Tommy sat above her, on
the breakwater itself, from which post he could
see anyone who approached along the esplanade.
Not that he expected to see anyone, having ascertained
with a fair amount of accuracy where
people would be this morning. In any case his rendezvous
with Tuppence had borne all the signs of
a casual meeting, pleasurable to the lady and ;
slightly alarming to himself. yy „,.„ y
(i;,,. Tuppence said: Baar^ ®® * ""I "Mrs. Perenna?" ®
"Yes. M, not N. She satisfies the requirements."
Wffi Tuppence nodded thoughtfully again. 'Mit "Yes. She's Irish--as spotted by Mrs.
,0'Rourke--won't admit the fact. Has done a
igood deal of coming and going on the continent.
gll Changed her name to Perenna, came here and
started this boarding house. A splendid bit of
camouflage, full of innocuous bores. Her husband
was shot as a traitor--she's got every incentive for
running a Fifth Column show in this country. Yes, |
it fits. Is the girl in it, too, do you think?"
Tommy said finally: ®s3i
N OR M? :^% 61
"Definitely not. She'd never have told me all
this otherwise. I--I feel a bit of a cad, you know."
Tuppence nodded with complete understand-
yyww; wob "''-.^ ^-'"v "((i^ ing. |g| -"- - ^ S^;®S
"Yes, one does. In a way it's a foul job, this." I "^"But very necessary." "®"0h, of course."
Tommy said, flushing slightly:
"I don't like lying any better than you do--"
Tuppence interrupted him.|<§ "I don't mind lying in the least. To be quite
honest I get a lot of artistic pleasure out of my lies. & What gets me down is those moments when one
forgets to lie--the times when one is just oneself
--and gets results that way that you couldn't have
got any other." She paused and went on: "That's
what happened to you last night--with the girl.
She responded to the real you--that's why you
feel badly about it." «,a^;;A ,s "I believe you're right. Tuppence." SUS.^ ' a
"I know. Because I did the same thmg myself
-with the German boy." |||J ,,.|i»i'
Tommy said: i
"What do you think about him?"
Tuppence said quickly: ' ^"t^ "If you ask me, I don't think he's got anything
to do with it."
"Grant thinks he has. "- . ^,| |||t. j "Your Mr. Grant!" Tuppence's mood
"changed. She chuckled. "How I'd like to have
seen his face when you told him about me."
"At any rate, he's made the amends honorable. You' re definitely on the j oh."
I Tuppence nodded, but she looked a trifle abstracted.
gin ^ S^.iSJS,-^^ She said: "Aw '"' ' -,^:"' 'y^
"Do you remembci
we were hunting dow
member what fun it was Tommy agreed, his
"Rather?" ^. "Tommy--why isn' ^ He considered the i
grave. Then he said:
"I suppose it's reall:
Tuppence said shari
"You don't think--
"No, I'm sure we'
time--it won't be fun. This is the second Wai
quite different about t]
"I know--we see tti
and the horror. All th
to think about before.
"That's it. In the 1
now and then--and hi
and went through he
were good times, too.'
Tuppence said:
"I suppose Derek fe
"Better not think
Tommy advised.
"You're right."
"We've got a job. ^ Let's get on with it. '. looking for in Mrs. Pe:
y: "We can at least s
cated. There's no on
that you've got your e> Tuppence consider® _ "No, there isn't. T
HpNORM? ^ 63'^
arrived, of course, was to size them all up and
assess, as it were, possibilities. Some of them seem
quite impossible." " ?; '-^ ^"%;
"Such as?" ' "" -9*::" "''' ^
"Well, Miss Minton, for instance, the 'cornpleat'
British spinster, and Mrs. Sprot and her
Betty, and the vacuous Mrs. Cayley."
"Yes, but nitwittishness can be assumed."
"Oh, quite, but the fussy spinster and the absorbed
young mothers are parts that would be
fatally easy to overdo--and these people are quite
natural. Then, where Mrs. Sprot is concerned,
there's the child."
| "I suppose," said Tommy, "that even a secret
agent might have a child.'' . ': ||§|
"Not with her on the job," said Tuppence.
"It's not the kind of thing you'd bring a child ^ into. I'm quite sure about that. Tommy. I know. ^ You'd keep a child out of it." ^ "I withdraw," said Tommy. "I'll give you Mrs.
Sprot and Miss Minton, but I'm not so sure about
Mrs. Cayley."
"No, she might be a possibility. Because she g really does overdo it. I mean there can't be many ^ women quite as idiotic as she seems."
j| "I have often noticed that being a devoted wife ';^ "saps the intellect," murmured Tommy. :
"And where have you noticed that?" demanded
Tuppence.
"Not from you. Tuppence. Your devotion has
never reached those lengths."
"For a man," said Tuppence kindly, "you
don't really make an undue fuss when you are ill."
Tommy reverted to a survey of possibilities. » "Cayley," said Tommy thoughtfully. "There
64 Agatha Christie
might be something fishy about Cayley."
"Yes, there might. Then there's Mrs. 0'Rourke."
s'': ^ "' W
"What do you feel about her?"
"I don't quite know. She's disturbing. Rather feefofum, if you know what I mean."
"Yes, I think I know. But I rather fancy that's
just the predatory note. She's that kind of
woman." >y?
Tuppence said slowly:
"""She--notices things."
She was remembering the remark about knitting.

"Then there's Bletchley," said Tommy.
"I've hardly spoken to him. He's definitely
your chicken." ^
"I think he's just the ordinary pukka old school ' type. I think so." ,
"That's just it," said Tuppence, answering a ^i, stress rather than actual words. "The worst of this
sort of show is that you look at quite ordinary S|
everyday people and twist them to suit your mor- fe;
bid requirements." sfe
"I've tried a few experiments on Bletchley,"^,
said Tommy.
"What sort of thing? I've got some experiments
in mind myself."
"Well--just gentle ordinary little traps--about
dates and places--all that sort of thing."
"Could you condescend from the general to the particular?"
"Well, say we're talking of duck shooting. He
mentions the Fayum--good sport there such and
such a year, such and such a month. Some other
time I mention Egypt in quite a different connection.
Mummies, Tutankhamen, something like
NORM? 65
that--has he seem that stuff? When was he there? ^Check up on the answers. Or P. & 0. boats--1 "mention the names of one or two, say So-and-so
was a comfortable boat. He mentions some trip or
other, later I check that. Nothing important, or ^anything that puts him on his guard--just a check
up on accuracy.''
"And so far he hasn't slipped up in any way?"
"Not once. And that's a pretty good test, let me -tell you. Tuppence."
| "Yes, but I suppose if he was N, he would have
his story quite pat.''
"Oh, yes--the main outlines of it. But it's not
so easy not to trip up on unimportant details. And
then occasionally you remember too much- more, that is, than a bona ride person would do.
An ordinary person doesn't usually remember offhand
whether they took a certain shooting trip in ^1926 or 1927. They have to think a bit and search ^their memory.'' pi;
"But so far you haven't caught Bletchley out?" ^ "So far he's responded in a perfectly normal
manner."
| "Result-negative." IgKiC.^S '
"Exactly."
"Now," said Tuppence. "I'll tell you some of
my ideas."
And she proceeded to do so,
%a.
Ill
On her way home, Mrs. Blenkensop stopped at
the post office. She bought stamps and on her way
out, went into one of the public call boxes. There
she rang up a certain number, asked for "Mr.@^

Stag
van,
-y;"
afe

66 Agatha Christie
Faraday," and held a short conversation with
him. She came out smiling and walked slowly
homewards, stopping on the way to purchase
some knitting wool.
It was a pleasant afternoon with a light breeze.
Tuppence curbed the natural energy of her own
brisk trot to that leisurely pace that accorded with
her conception of the part of Mrs. Blenkensop.
Mrs. Blenkensop had nothing on earth to do with
herself except knit (not too well) and write letters
to her boys. She was always writing letters to herp"
boys--sometimes she left them about half fin?
ished.
Tuppence came slowly up the hill towards Sans
Souci. Since it was not a through road (it ended at
Smugglers' Rest, Commander Haydock's house)
there was never much traffic--a few tradesmen's
vans in the morning. Tuppence passed house after
house, amusing herself by noting their names.SK
Bella Vista (inaccurately named, since the merest
glimpse of the sea was to be obtained, and the
main view was the vast Victorian bulk of Edenhoime
on the other side of the road). Karachi was
the next house. After that came Shirley Tower.
Then Sea View (appropriate this time), Castle
Clare (somewhat grandiloquent, since it was a
small house), Trelawny, a rival establishment toils
spsgthat °f Mrs. Perenna, and finally the vast maroon"" l|||bulk of Sans Souci. ^ 'Si- It was just as she came near to it that Tuppencefe
became aware of a woman standing by the gate ^Bpeering inside. There was something tense and
viligant about the figure.
U Almost unconsciously. Tuppence softened the "" sound of her own footsteps, stepping cautiously
upon her toes.
IIH --i^N OR M? ',67
It was not until she was close behind her, that&s" the woman heard her and turned. Turned with a
start. S?? ^^'-f^^N 88
She was a tall woman, poorly, even meanly
dressed, but her face was unusual. She was not ' young--probably between forty and fifty--but
there was a contrast between her face and the way .^y^ she was dressed. She was fair-haired, with wide
cheekbones and had been--indeed still was--
beautiful. Just for a minute Tuppence had a feeling
that the woman's face was somehow familiar ip
to her, but the feeling faded. It was not, she ^ thought, a face easily forgotten. ,,;
|i^ The woman was obviously startled, and the Hi
flash of alarm that flitted across her face was not
lost on Tuppence. (Something odd here?)|%»tg| ||
: Tuppence said: """'""""' B „ "Excuse me, are you looking for someone?" "*' *
S The woman spoke in a slow foreign voice, pro- y^.,,, nouncing the words carefully as though she had
learned them by heart.
"This 'ouse is Sans Souci?"
"Yes. I live here. Did you want someone?"
There was an infinitesimal pause, then the
woman said:
"You can tell me, please. There is a Mr. Rosen-
stein there, no? " |^|
"Mr. Rosenstein?" Tuppence shook her head.
"No. I'm afraid not. Perhaps he has been there
and left. Shall I ask for you?"
But the strange woman made a quick gesture of
refusal. She said: :. t '^s
"No--no. I make mistake. Excuse, please."
Then, quickly, she turned and walked rapidly
down the hill again.
Tuppence stood staring after her. For some
68 Agatha Christie
reason, her suspicions were aroused. There was a
contrast between the woman's manner and her
words. Tuppence had an idea that "Mr. Rosenstein"
was a fiction, that the woman had seized at
the first name that came into her head.
Tuppence hesitated a minute, then she started
down the hill after the other. What she could only
describe as a "hunch" made her. want to follow
the woman. 1.,^';'.''
Presently, however, she stopped. To follow
would be to draw attention to herself in a rather
marked manner. She had clearly been on the point
of entering Sans Souci when she spoke to the woman; to reappear on her trail would be to
arouse suspicion that Mrs. Blenkensop was something
other than appeared on the surface--that is
to say if this strange woman was indeed a member
of the enemy plot.
No, at all costs Mrs. Blenkensop must remain
what she seemed.
' Tuppence turned and retraced her steps up the
hill. She entered Sans Souci and paused in the hall.
The house seemed deserted, as was usual early in
the afternoon. Betty was having her nap, the elder
members were either resting or had gone out.
Then, as Tuppencee stod in the dim hall thinking
over her recent encounter, a faint sound came
to her ears. It was a sound she knew quite well
--the faint echo of a ting.
The telephone at Sans Souci was in the hall. The
sound that Tuppence had just heard was the sound
made when the receiver of an extension is taken
off or replaced. There was one extension in the
house--in Mrs. Perenna's bedroom.
Tommy might have hesitated. Tuppence did not
hesitate for a minute. Very gently and carefully
t NORM? 69
'I' off the receiver and put it to her ear. ^ne was using the extension. It was a
^ice. Tuppence heard:
^rything going well. On the fourth, then,
Sed." ^ -
K Aan's voice said: fa.^ %;,
'is
Aearryon."
'was a click as the receiver was replaced. "'We stood there frowning. Was that Mrs. I ''s voice? Difficult to say with only those yrds to go upon. If there had been only ^inore to the conversation. It might, of
be quite an ordinary conversation--cer- ^ere was nothing in the words she had
','1 to indicate otherwise.
iidow obscured the light from the door.
fte jumped and replaced the receiver as ^enna spoke.
"> a pleasant afternoon. Are you going out,
i^nkensop, or have you just come in?"
| was not Mrs. Perenna who had been 'it from Mrs. Perenna's room. Tuppence
', 'ed something about having had a pleasant I'd moved to the staircase.
i Perenna moved along the hall after her. "ned bigger than usual. Tuppence was con-
V her as a strong athletic woman.
)ud: a|
ihst get my things off," and hurried up the
As she turned the corner of the landing she
i,l with Mrs. O'Rourke, whose vast bulk
i'lhe top of the stairs.
tr, dear, now, Mrs. Blenkensop, it's a great
;louseemtobein."
('(id not move aside, just stood there smiling
I >t Tuppence just below her. There was, as
68 Agatha Christie
reason, her suspicions were aroused. There was;
contrast between the woman's manner and he;
words. Tuppence had an idea that "Mr. Rosen
stein" was a fiction, that the woman had seized a
the first name that came into her head. 111 Tuppence hesitated a minute, then she starter down the hill after the other. What she could onl
describe as a "hunch" made her want to follov
the woman. "'ilS'"1' ^
Presently, however, she stopped. To follov
would be to draw attention to herself in a rathe;
marked manner. She had clearly been on the poin
of entering Sans Souci when she spoke to thi woman; to reappear on her trail would be t(
arouse suspicion that Mrs. Blenkensop was some
Ht thing other than appeared on the surface--that i:
to say if this strange woman was indeed a membe:
of the enemy plot.
No, at all costs Mrs. Blenkensop must remaii
what she seemed.
Tuppence turned and retraced her steps up thi
hill. She entered Sans Souci and paused in the hall ^ The house seemed deserted, as was usual early ir
the afternoon. Betty was having her nap, the eldei
members were either resting or had gone out.
Then, as Tuppencee stod in the dim hall think
ing over her recent encounter, a faint sound canu to her ears. It was a sound she knew quite wel
[ --the faint echo of a ting.
' The telephone at Sans Souci was in the hall. The
" sound that Tuppence had just heard was the souni made when the receiver of an extension is taker off or replaced. There was one extension in thi
house--in Mrs. Perenna's bedroom.
Tommy might have hesitated. Tuppence did no .,„ hesitate for a minute. Very gently and carefulb
N OR M? 69
^ she lifted off the receiver and put it to her ear.
H Someone was using the extension. It was a
(| man's voice. Tuppence heard:
"--everything going well. On the fourth, then,
I as arranged." "^ ..;-.- w,y^ ' ' A woman's voice said:,, ,.y^.:... ,,,-wfe- ^^
"Yes, carry on." Si^-iy^v^^^jSrS ^^4 jl H There was a click as the receiver was replaced.
'; Tuppence stood there frowning. Was that Mrs.
Perenna's voice? Difficult to say with only those _ j three words to go upon. If there had been only ^ ^ a little more to the conversation. It might, of ,^^_ course, be quite an ordinary conversation--cer'^^B
tainly there was nothing in the words she had
overhead to indicate otherwise, yi,
A shadow obscured the light from the door.
Tuppence jumped and replaced the receiver as
. Mrs. Perenna spoke. ; "Such a pleasant afternoon. Are you going out,
Mrs. Blenkensop, or have you just come in?" ~ ^^So it was not Mrs. Perenna who had been ^^speaking from Mrs. Perenna's room. Tuppence
murmured something about having had a pleasant
walk and moved to the staircase.
Mrs. Perenna moved along the hall after her.
She seemed bigger than usual. Tuppence was conscious
of her as a strong athletic woman. ^ ^ »
She said:
^^_ "I must get my things off," and hurried up the ^^B stairs. As she turned the corner of the landing she ^^ collided with Mrs. O'Rourke, whose vast bulk
j barred the top of the stairs. ^ i ^fe "Dear, dear, now, Mrs. Blenkensop, it's a great ^ hurry you seem to be in."
, She did not move aside, just stood there smiling
| down__yppence just below her. There was, as
L^^--_^B . KH
70 Agatha Christie
always, a frightening quality about Mrs. 0'Rourke's
smile.
And suddenly, for no reason, Tuppence felt^l;^ afraid. Bft^l
The big smiling Irishwoman, with her deep
voice, barring her way and below Mrs. Perenna
closing in at the foot of the stairs.
Tuppence glanced over her shoulder. Was it her
fancy that there was something definitely menac,,
ing in Mrs. Perenna's upturned face? Absurd, she |j|, told herself, absurd. In broad daylight--in a corn-1|
monplace seaside boarding house. But the house |||i was so very quiet. Not a sound. And she herself |
here on the stairs between the two of them. Surely |
there was something a little queer in Mrs. s|
O'Rourke's smile--some fixed ferocious quality 1 about it. Tuppence thought wildly, "Like a cat
with a mouse."
And then suddenly the tension broke. A little
figure darted along the top landing uttering shrill ^ squeals of mirth. Little Betty Sprot in vest and I
knickers, darting past Mrs. O'Rourke, shouting
happily "Peek Go," as she flung herself on Tuppence.
I
The atmosphere had changed. Mrs. O'Rourke, Hlf3 a big genial figure, was crying out:
"Ah, the darlin'. It's a great girl she's getting."
Below, Mrs. Perenna had turned away to the
door that led into the kitchen. Tuppence, Betty's
hand clasped in hers, passed Mrs. O'Rourke and"
ran along the passage to where Mrs. Sprot was
waiting to scold the truant, sy^
Tuppence went in with the child. fiS f
She felt a queer sense of relief at the domestic
atmosphere--the child's clothes lying about, the
woolly toys, the painted crib, the sheeplike and
-l*-«
,^RM? 71
,^
sc^"^, N 09 face of Mr. Sprot in its
^"^Sractive ^ table' the bllrble of Mrs^th
y^ 4< laundry pr^es and really
sr»6 ^Sci,! "f >nna was a ijttle unfair in <"%!' fterW^ts having meir own elec^^ll^Nion
^ ^ „ everyday, ,. ^
^Y^ ^s^o"111^ stairs, at?.?^-1 ^Wn^^ to herself. Just
n^rves!^,'''t now .J ,...
put. ^id Tii^^^, Someone had been
telephoJ,, ^^. Perenna's room. Mrs.
o^0^ ^^r^yodd ^"gto do-It en-
^^a4^"^"^0^11
Jt "'^SSdthat y ^PP^e thfeht, 'a'very
sh01'1 } , '.e merest brief exchange of
^rds. } Th'
^ "tion. ^ ^^ ^y^ ^ ^^.
^}^y
Itm>»|, 8 g /,g-oragooddeal. »^ T €'»<> thi/^t a date? The fourth, say,
ofsmX^w^y
Or i(,b was t ^ fourth seat, or the fourth '^no^mean th^-th breakwater-impo^ible
^n^'^thefou^ ^ &
11 ^l c^^^^ niean the Forth
g^jdge, ^( / ^ attempt to blow that up
fhehA ^st c0--^
»^,,.d^/,,,a ais
It mi^^ r- ^ ^ave been the confirmation
of SOV%itTysu/<iina^y aPPO11"11"1^. Mrs.
p^e^"^CetlvO^Mrso'Rou^kes^
^ntT^^thavetAer bedroom any time she
^^K^o"0 in f6 on the stairs' that tense ^ atmosph^
f><«<«>»»)<
^


5
Commander Haydock turned out to be a most
genial host. He welcomed Mr. Meadowes and
Major Bletchley with enthusiasm and insisted on
showing the former "all over my little place."
Smugglers' Rest had been originally a couple of
coastguards' cottages standing on the cliff overlooking
the sea. There was a small cove below, but
the access to it was perilous, only to be attempted
by adventurous boys.
Then the cottages had been bought by a London
business man who had thrown them into one and
attempted half-heartedly to make a garden. He
had come down occasionally for short periods in
summer.
After that the cottages had remained empty for
some years, being let with a modicum of furniture
to summer visitors.
"Then in 1926," explained Haydock, "it was
sold to a man called Hahn. He was a German, and
if you ask me, he was neither more nor less than a
spy."
Tommy's ears quickened.
"That's interesting," he said, putting down the
glass from which he had been sipping sherry, lift*
"Damned thorough fellows they are," said
Haydock. "Getting ready even then for this show
--at least that is my opinion. Look at the situation
of this place. Perfect for signalling out to sea.
4 Agatha Christie
Cove below where you could land a motor-boat, ^fl
Completely isolated, owing to the contour of the
cliff. Oh, yes, don't tell me that fellow Hahn
wasn't a German agent." B^y SiSSI'®^ '" ^ Major Bletchley said: ^;:.gi.^.-^^|§| ®.,
^.1 "Of course he was." efe ,^ "What happened to him?" asked Tommy. |g|| |
"Ah!" said Haydock, "thereby hangs a tale. |
Hahn spent a lot of money on this place. He had a
way cut down to the beach for one thing--con- |
crete steps--expensive business. Then he had the ',
I'll whole of the house done over--bathrooms, every ^ expensive gadget you can imagine. And who did g|
he set to do all this? Not local men. No, a firm
from London, so it was said--but a lot of the men
who came down were foreigners. Some of them , didn't speak a word of English. Don't you agree ^ with me that that sounds extremely fishy?'' .^ |p|
IH "A little odd, certainly, "agreed Tommy. ^.' |8|
fcA" "I was in the neighbourhood myself at the time,
living in a bungalow, and I got interested in whatg
this fellow was up to. I used to hang about tol., g. watch the workmen. Now I'll tell you this--theyi^W didn't like it--they didn't like it at all. Once ori |^ twice they were quite threatening about it. Why fe should they be if everything was all square and
aboveboard?"
BIetchley nodded agreement, ^"^"^^s.jy
1111 ' 'You ought to have gone to the authorities," he ^ said. -., - a^^l .,,,
"Just what I did do, my dear fellow. Made a||R positive nuisance of myself pestering the police.''
,yiy. He poured himself out another drink.
A "And what did. I get for my pains? Polite inat;»;,,
tention. Blind and deaf, that's what we were in '
this country. Another War with Germany was out I
N OR M? 5 75
of the question--there was peace in Europe--our
relations with Germany were excellent. Natural sympathy between us nowadays. I was regarded as
an old fossil, a War maniac, a diehard old sailor.
What was the good of pointing out to people that
the Germans were building the finest Air Force
in Europe and not just to fly round and have
picnics!" ^ ^ s, Major Bletchley said explosively: K-^ "Nobody believed it! Damned fools! Peace in
our time. Appeasement. All a lot of blah!"
Haydock said, his face redder than usual with
suppressed anger: "A War-monger, that's what
they called me. The sort of chap, they said, who
was an obstacle to peace. Peace! I knew what our
Hun friends were at! And mind this, they prepare
things a long time beforehand. I was convinced
that Mr. Hahn was up to no good. I didn't like his
foreign workmen. I didn't like the way he "was
spending money on this place. I kept on badgering
away at people.'' ft "Stout fellow," said Bletchley appreciatively.
"And finally," said the Commander, "I began
to make an impression. We had a new Chief Constable
down here--retired soldier. And he had the
sense to listen to me. His fellows began to nose
around. Sure enough, Hahn decamped. Just
slipped out and disappeared one fine night. The
police went over this place with a search warrant.
In a safe which had been built-in in the dining
room they found a wireless transmitter and some
pretty damaging documents. Also a big store place
under the garage for petrol--great tanks. I can tell
you I was cock-a-hoop over that. Fellows at the
club used to rag me about my German Spy com1
plex. They dried up after that. Trouble with us in
'6 Agatha Christie
this country is that we're so absurdly unsuspicious."
^ ;. n;
"It's a crime. Fools--that's what we are--
fools. Why don't we intern all these refugees?"^ Major Bletchley was well away. <t
"End of the story was I bought the place when
it came into the market," continued the Commander,
not to be sidetracked from his pet story.
"Come in and have a look round, Meadowes?"
"Thanks. I'd like to."
Commander Haydock was as full of zest as a
boy as he did the honours of the establishment. He
threw open the big safe in the dining room to show
where the secret wireless had been found. Tommy
was taken out to the garage and was shown where ^ the big petrol tanks had been concealed, and li-^ nally, after a superficial glance at the two excellent
bathrooms, the special lighting, and the various
kitchen "gadgets," he was taken down the steep
concreted path to the little cove beneath, whilst j| Commander Haydock told him all over again how |'
extremely useful the whole layout would be to an ggy enemy in War time. Ba
He was taken into the cave which gave the place.
its name and Haydock pointed out enthusiastically |
how it could have been used. |||
Major Bletchley did not accompany the two""""
men on their tour, but remained peacefully sip- b», ping his drink on the terrace. Tommy gathered B?
that the Commander's spy hunt with its successful
issue was that good gentleman's principal topic of H;
conversation and that his friends had heard it
many times.
In fact. Major Bletchley said as much when they g»
were walking down to Sans Souci a little later. 1^'
pounds "Good fellow, Haydock," he said. "But he's,
'.•'IS! NORM? H| IH 77
not content to let a good thing alone. We've heard
all about that business again and again until we're
sick of it. He's as proud of the whole bag of tricks jl^l
up there as a cat of its kittens.'' S^
The simile was not too far-fetched, and Tommy 'Ai6
assented with a smile.
The conversation then turning to Major Bletchley's
own successful unmasking of a dishonest
bearer in 1923, Tommy's attention was free to s
pursue its own inward line of thought punctuated tef^'
by sympathetic "Not reallys?"—"You don't say xe
so?" and "What an extraordinary business!"
which was all Major Bletchley needed in the way
of encouragement. §|lfi
More than ever now. Tommy felt thaFwhen the
dying Farquhar had mentioned Sans Souci he had
been on the right track. Here, in this out of the
world spot, preparations had been made a long ^^
time beforehand. The arrival of the German Hahn i^ll
and his extensive installation showed clearly ;
enough that this particular part of the coast, had
been selected for a rallying point, a focus of
enemy activity.
That particular game had been defeated by the ,
unexpected activity of the suspicious Commander |
Haydock. Round One had gone to Britain. But
supposing that Smugglers' Rest had been only the
first outpost of a complicated scheme of attack? s^
Smugglers' Rest, that is to say, had represented 'v*
sea communications. Its beach, inaccessible save
for the path down from above, would lend itself
admirably to the plan. But it was only a part of the
whole.
Defeated on that part of the plan by Haydock,
what had been the enemy's response? Might not
he have fallen back upon the next best thing—that
--?
78 Agatha Christie
is to say. Sans Souci? The exposure of Hahn hac
come about four years ago. Tommy had an idea
from what Sheila Perenna had said, that it wa;
very soon after that that Mrs. Perenna had re
turned to England and bought Sans Souci. Thi
next move in the game?
It would seem, therefore, that Leahampton wa
definitely an enemy center—that there were al
ready installations and affiliations in the neigh
borhood. ; '
His spirits rose. The depression engendered b:
the harmless and futile atmosphere of Sans Souc
disappeared. Innocent as it seemed, that inno
cence was no more than skin deep. Behind tha
innocuous mask things were going on. ?A^^
And the focus of it all, so far as Tommy couk
judge, was Mrs. Perenna. The first thing to do wa
to know more about Mrs. Perenna, to penetrati
behind her apparently simple routine of running
her boarding establishment. Her correspondence
her acquaintances, her social or War working ac
tivities—somewhere in all these must lie thi
essence of her real activities. If Mrs. Perenna wa;
the renowned woman agent, M, then it was sh<
who controlled the whole of the Fifth Column ac
tivities in this country. Her identity would bi
known to few—only to those at the top. But corn
munications she must have with her chiefs of staf
and it was those communications that he and Tup
pence had got to tap.
At the right moment, as Tommy saw wel
enough, Smugglers' Rest could be seized an<
held—by a few stalwarts operating from San
Souci. That moment was not yet, but it migh
be very near. »py
ISSBI '^^NORM?	"-X 79
Once the German Army was established in control
of the channel ports in France and Belgium,
they could concentrate on the invasion and sub- I
jugation of Britain, and things were certainly ^ going very badly in France at the moment.
Britain's Navy was all-powerful on the sea, so
the attack must come by air and by internal
treachery--and if the threads of internal treachery , ^ were in Mrs. Perenna's keeping, there was no time SH to lose. .
Major Bletchley's words chimed in with his
thoughts:
"I saw, you know, that there was no time to
lose. I got hold of Abdul, my sayce--good fellow,
Abdul--" ^ ^
The story droned on. ^|( - ^f^^i,-.^ ^
Tommy was thinking:' '
"Why Leahampton? Any reason? It's out of
the main stream--bit of a backwater. Conservative,
old-fashioned. All those points make it desirable.
Is there anything else?" ;'- ".,
There was a stretch of flat agricultural country |
behind it, running inland. A lot of pasture. Suitable,
therefore, for the landing of troop-carrying
airplanes or of parachute troops. But that was true
of many other places. There was also a big chemical
works where, it might be noted, Carl von :
Deinim was employed. ''NipS^
Carl von Deinim. How did he fit in? Only too
well. He was not, as Grant had pointed out, the
real head. A cog, only, in the machine. Liable to
suspicion and internment at any moment. But in
the meantime, he might have accomplished what
had been his task. He had mentioned to Tuppence
that he was working on decontamination prob- ^
80 Agatha Christie
lems and on the immunizing of certain gases.
There were probabilities there--probabilities unpleasant
to contemplate.
Carl, Tommy decided (a little reluctantly) was
in it. A pity, because he rather liked the fellow.
Well, he was working for his country--taking his
life in his hands. Tommy had respect for such an
adversary--down him by all means--a firing party
was the end, but you knew that when you took on
your job. W^''0- ^;? ^:
It was the people who betrayed their own land
--from within--that really roused a slow vindictive
passion in him. By God, he'd get them!
--"And that's how I got them!" The Major
wound up his story triumphantly. "Pretty smart
bit of work, eh?"
Unblushingly Tommy said:
"Most ingenious thing I've heard in my life,
Major." ,^,- - - .," -- , - -
Mrs. Blenkensop was reading a letter on thin
foreign paper, stamped outside with the censor's
mark.
"Dear Raymond," she murmured. "I was so
happy about him out in Egypt, and now, it seems,
there is a big change round. All very secret, of
course, and he can't say anything--just that there
really is a marvellous plan and that I'm to be ready
for some big surprises soon. I'm glad to know
where he's being sent, but I really don't see
why--" m "I
Bletchley grunted.
"Surely he's not allowed to tell you that?" --
I
V?. NORM? ||| g||j 81
Tuppence gave a deprecating laugh and looked
round the breakfast table as she folded up her ^ precious letter. ^ '_
"Oh! We have our methods," she said archly.
"Dear Raymond knows that if only I know where (
he is or where he's going I don't worry quite so " much. It's quite a simple way, too. Just a certain
word, you know, and after it the initial letters of
the next words spell out the place. Of course it
makes rather a funny sentence sometimes--but
Raymond is really most ingenious. I'm sure nobody
would notice."
Little murmurs arose round the table. The mo- S ment was well chosen, everybody happened to be
at the breakfast table together for once. gl&y |p; Bletchley, his face rather red, said:
a "You'll excuse me, Mrs. Blenkensop, but that's
a damned foolish thing to do. Movements of
troops and air squadrons are just what the Ger-
- ^gi^'^^l 'i?.^--;;
mans want to know. '.:' ^
"Oh, but I never tell anyone," cried Tuppence.
"I'm very, very careful."
"All the same it's an unwise thing to do--and
your boy will get into trouble over it some day."
"Oh, I do hope not. I'mhis mother, you see. A
mother ought to know." gj^g ^ ' '.,,||§§
"Indeed and I think you're right," boomed out
Mrs. O'Rourke. "Wild horses wouldn't drag the
information from you--we know that."
"Letters can be read," said Bletchley.
"I'm very careful never to leave letters lying f, about," said Tuppence with an air of outraged
dignity. "I always keep them locked up."
Bletchley shook his head doubtfully.
Sp MS " A. W ,.;:
ySst^iS
I
Agatha Christie
It was a grey morning with the wind blowing
coldly from the sea. Tuppence was alone at the far,
end of the beach. K
She took from her bag two letters that she had
just called for at a small news agent's in the town.
She opened them. . ^ ;^,^ ,^ .
/ dearest mother,
Lots of funny things I could tell you only I
3 mustn't. We're putting up a good show, I f. think. Five German planes before breakfast is
today's market quotation. Bit of a mess at the
moment and all that, but we'll get there all
right in the end.
Ili^a It's the way they machine gun the poor
civilian devils on the roads that gets me. It
makes us all see red. Gus and Trundles want
to be remembered to you. They're still going
strong.
Don't worry about me. I'm all right.
Wouldn't have missed this show for the
world. Love to old Carrot Top--have the
W.C. given him a job yet? |
fS f -.-:':. . Yours ever-- *
^ „ ' 'l;i^ ^i^s-y,.,-^. derek.
-, ftafefr^"'-" Tuppence's eyes were very bright and shining as
she read and re-read this. ^;; ;.
Then she opened the other letter. ^ ^.^
-.; dearest mum, ^
^ow'?, old Aunt Gracie? Going strong? I
think you're wonderful to stick it. I couldn't.
No news. My job's very interesting, but so
gB| N OR M? |g 83
hush-hush I can't tell you about it. But I
really do feel I'm doing something worth
Ev while. Don't fret about not getting any War
; work to do—it's so silly all these elderly
women rushing about wanting to do things.
They only really want people who are young
and efficient. I wonder how Carrots is getting
on at his job up in Scotland? Just filling up
forms, I suppose. Still he'll be happy to feel
he is doing something. ysiSK'f.^" "^^SS
Lots of love.,,,, ^, ^^^i^^'^^-1^
..y,-,,,^''1-^111^!!^^ deborah.
;/. Tuppence smiled.
I; She folded the letters,' smoothed them lovingly
| and then under the shelter of a breakwater she
H struck a match and set them on fire. She waited;
jU until they were reduced to ashes. •
Taking out her fountain pen and a small writing
| 'pad she wrote rapidly. ^
fc-c F
^^a^'^Langherne, :.
. Cornwall.':
^dearest deb, i^-issllfc BiSy
a ^ It seems so remote from the War here that I
can hardly believe there is a War going on.
Very glad to get your letter and know that
your work is interesting.
Aunt Gracie has grown much more feeble
and very hazy in her mind. I think she is glad
to have me here. She talks a good deal about
the old days and sometimes, I think, confuses
me with my own mother. They are growing
more vegetables than usual—have turned the
rose garden into potatoes. I help old Sikes a
bit. It makes me feel I am doing something in
- ' Agatha Christie
I1^": YOT father seems a bit disgruntled
think> is you ^y. he too is glad to be
d^S sometling. .,,,.. ,
Love from your
tuppenny mother.
S^ookafrshsheet.
,1-"/: ,te'K !»,-: ' I
DOLING DEgK ' - ----- :*i»:"- ;
^great effort to get your letter. Send
n<?. postcar[s often if you haven't time to
writf a-iy,.:',,. ,;,
T) 'i... .... " ri.,, '
. he coftle iown to be with Aunt Gracie a bl"<he is ^y feeble. She will talk of you as
th^h you re seven and gave me ten shill- s. m^syesterdatosendyouasatip. i
LJk ct.llor.. . .. . . . ___________
old you, has got a job in the
^*l»-t«.iii»-uia. nc IS Up 1-<U1"«%;
I|i soxti(»vhere. getter than nothing, but not ^
..J*3t^
vwy ywi vrju V^aiIUL 1 Up. OIIA1 1
i suppose we'^ got to be humble and take a
baCK seat aq leave the War to you young
I Wt sa, "Take care of yourself." be-?-
caUS( i gathe that the whole point is that you
_sndyiii do iiu-^i--_ ^- -- --- --
, ,t, -" ""; uppusiie. cui aon i go ana
be s'lpid.
«, ^°lsoflov -/ , „
SS " :/',--"11 , ;"
^ . '^s" tuppence. ^ ^^ -:.-.::
sh<?put the kters into envelopes, addressed and
stamps them aid posted them on her way back to
ggj SansSOuci. :,;;,
As she reach^the bottom of the cliffher atten-
; N OR M? 85
f tion was caughtby two figures ^"^"S ^'"S a little way up. , , , ,
Tuppence stOPP^ dead- l was the same woman , she had seen ^td!ty and talking to her was carl I von Deinim. , , ,, , ' Regretfully TuPP^^ noted the fact that there
was no cover Sl" could not get "ear them unseen I and overhear wh»t was being said.
R Moreover atthat moment the y011"^ German ^ turned his head ^ saw her- Rather a^P^'the
two figures ^ted- The woman came rapidly I down the hill, ^ssms the road and passing Tup'
i pence on the oth^"^-.. „_ I Carl von Dei1111" walted "n1!1 Tuppence came
^ up to him ' ';'''*;"*'!^''
Then, gravelysnd P011^^' he wished her 80od " morning. £ Tuppence said immediately:
"What ery odd lookin8 woman that was to
whom you wereta110^'Mr- von Deimm-" ? "v»o i* d Central European type. She-is a
g;i *ca- It IS » - .'.- . :
% Czech " VS i ^'
SB^ "Really? A-a friend of yours?"
^ Tuppence's (O^ was a very good copy ° l e in'
| quisitive voice ^ Aunt Gracie in her younger
^ dflVS
I «^q. „ »said Carl stiffly. "I never saw the
woman before." , , „ - '" '' "
"Oh. really. ( thou8ht Tuppence paused
| artistically. , , .. . , , "She
asks me only a (llre(:tlon-I SPeak Ger'
man to her because she doej not understand much
English " saf! ' ??¥'
"I se a A ^e was ^^'"B ihs wsy somewhere?"
_ ...
"She asked ^ if l knew a Ml"s Gottlleb near
84 Agatha Christie
the War. Your father seems a bit disgruntled
but I think, as you say, he too is glad to be
doing something.
Love from your K ^^ tuppenny mother.
She took a fresh sheet. ' '& '
' - -" ;T."^'-'<. '' ' '^}darling
derek, N«8 e^
A great comfort to get your letter. Send
field postcards often if you haven't time to
write.
I've come down to be with Aunt Gracie a
bit. She is very feeble. She will talk of you as
though you were seven and gave me ten shill;
ings yesterday to send you as a tip. Nt ' :t
I'm still on the shelf and nobody wants myS% invaluable services! Extraordinary! Your
father, as I told you, has got a job in they Ministry of Requirements. He is up North^ somewhere. Better than nothing, but not
what he wanted, poor old Carrot Top. Still I
suppose we've got to be humble and take a|
back seat and leave the War to you young' idiots. &
I won't say "Take care of yourself," be>» cause I gather that the whole point is that you
should do just the opposite. But don't go and
be stupid. ^''.Igai ^ Lots of love. &<
W - .--.-' -' fUPPENCE.
She put the letters into envelopes, addressed and
stamped them and posted them on her way back to
SansSouci.
As she reached the bottom of the cliff her atten-
^» . '
;lS|s NORM?-?.-. 85
tion was caught by two figures standing talking a
little way up.
Tuppence stopped dead. It was the same woman
she had seen yesterday and talking to her was Carl
von Deinim. sk
Regretfully Tuppence noted the fact that there
was no cover. She could not get near them unseen
and overhear what was being said.
| Moreover, at that moment the young German ^turned his head and saw her. Rather abruptly, the
two figures parted. The woman came rapidly
down the hill, crossing the road and passing Tuppence
on the other side.
Carl von Deinim waited until Tuppence came
up to him.
Then, gravely and politely, he wished her good
morning. .;^k ||H '-' ''.'
Tuppence said immediately:""
"What a very odd looking woman that was to
whom you were talking, Mr. von Deinim."
"Yes. It is a Central European type. She is a
Czech." ^).e ., alai.?-^
"Really? A--a friend of yours?" ^
Tuppence's tone was a very good copy of the inquisitive
voice of Aunt Gracie in her younger
days.
"Not at all," said Carl stiffly. "I never saw the
woman before." .. ..- .^'^y-'^;''1-^:^
"Oh, really. I thought--" Tuppence paused
artistically.
"She asks me only for a direction. I speak German
to her because she does not understand muchEnglish."
"I
see. And she was asking the way somewhere?"
; "She asked me if I knew a Mrs. Gottlieb near
86 ,,^ Agatha Christie -"¥. ^
"here. I do not, and she says she has, perhaps, got
the name of the house wrong.'' ,;g» ^ "I see." said Tuppence thoughtfully. Stt g|
Mr. Rosenstein. Mrs. Gottlieb. 11
She stole a swift glance at Carl von Deinim. He
was walking beside her with a set stiff face. -S
;: Tuppence felt a definite suspicion of thisgy;
"strange woman. And she felt almost convinced!' that when she had first caught sight of them, thee" woman and Carl had been already talking somes^
^ / time together. ||$||?^§ ^^^^^^fjr
Carl von Deinim? |
y- Carl and Sheila that morning. "You must be
careful...."
Tuppence thought:
"I hope--I hope these young things aren't in
^ Soft, she told herself, middle-aged and soft!|| ^%|That's what she was! The Nazi creed was a youth
iJ "creed. Nazi agents would in all probability be
_I young. Carl and Sheila. Tommy said Sheila wasn't
in it. Yes, but Tommy was a man, and Sheila was
1111 beautiful with a queer breath-taking beauty.
Carl and Sheila, and behind them that enigt< matic figure: Mrs. Perenna. Mrs. Perenna, sometimes
the voluble, commonplace, guest house
hostess, sometimes, for fleeting minutes, a tragic
violent personality, l?^ "f^s
Tuppence went slowly upstairs to her bedroom.
That evening, when Tuppence went to bed, she
pulled out the long drawer of her bureau. At one ^a side of it was a small japanned box with a flimsy H cheap lock. Tuppence slipped on gloves, unlocked
the box, and opened it. A pile of letters lay inside.
On the top was the one received that morning
NORM? 87
from "Raymond." Tuppence unfolded it with due
precautions.
Then her lips set grimly. There had been an
eyelash in the fold of the paper this morning. The
eyelash was not there now. ^iis
She went to the washstand. There was a little
bottle labelled innocently: "Grey powder" with a
dose.
Adroitly Tuppence dusted a little of the powder
onto the letter and onto the surface of the glossy
japanned enamel of the box.
There were no fingerprints on either of them.
Again Tuppence nodded her head with a certain
grim satisfaction.
For there should have been fingerprints--her
own. . S M^;.: :,^
A servant might have read letters out of curiosity,
though it seemed unlikely--certainly unlikely
that she should have gone to the trouble of finding
a key to fit the box.
But a servant would not think of wiping off-fingerprints.
-^
Mrs. Perenna? Sheila? Somebody else? Somebody,
at least, who was interested in the movements
of British armed forces. ,,,.,„ .
IV
Tuppence's plan of campaign had been simple
in its outlines. First, a general sizing up of probabilities
and possibilities. Second, an experiment
to determine whether there was or was not an inmate
of Sans Souci who was interested in troop
movements and anxious to conceal the fact.
g8 Agatha Christie *
Third--who that person was? »a
It was concerning that third operation that Tuppence
pondered as she lay in bed the following H
niorning. Her train of thought was slightly hampered
by Betty Sprot, who had pranced in at an
early hour, preceding indeed the cup of somewhat
tepid inky liquid known as Morning Tea. ,
Betty was both active and voluble. She had j taken a great attachment to Tuppence. She
climbed up on the bed and thrust an extremely tat- ,
tered picture book under Tuppence's nose, corn- j|
manding with brevity:.,,.; p ,- . *
"Wead." US .... |||^ SS^
Tuppence read obediently: ;^
"Goosey, goosey gander, whither "will you ^ gj
i wander? |
I Upstairs, downstairs, in my lady's chamber." |
Betty rolled with mirth--repeating in an ec- I
stasy: ®g SH w. t|
"Uptares--u'ptares--uptares--" and then with
a sudden climax: "Down--" and proceeded to
roll off the bed with a thump. ^
This proceeding was repeated several times until I
it palled. Then Betty crawled about the floor,
playing with Tuppence's shoes and muttering
busily to herself in her own particular idiom:
"Ag da--bah pit--soo--soo dah--putch--"
Released to fly back to its own perplexities,
Tuppence's mind forgot the child. The words of
the nursery rhyme seemed to mock at her.
Goosey, goosey gander, whither shall ye ;r^
, wander? w,;, ,.,. ..-.»»»»«i»»Bw,;i. ';l":""':
' NORM? , 89
Whither indeed? Goosey, that was her, dander
was Tommy. It was, at any rate, what they appeared
to be! Tuppence had the heartiest contempt
for Mrs. Blenkensop. Mr. Meadowes, she
thought, was a little better--stolid, British, unit imaginative--quite incredibly stupid. Both of
them, she hoped, fitting nicely into the backgground
of Sans Souci. Both such possible people
Sto be there.
All the same, one must not relax--a slip was so
easy. She had made one the other day--nothing
that mattered, but just a sufficient indication to
warn her to be careful. Such an easy approach to ^intimacy and good relations--an indifferent knitfeter
asking for guidance. But she had forgotten that
one evening, her fingers had slipped into their own
practised efficiency, the needles clicking busily
with the even note of the experienced knitter. And
Mrs. O'Rourke had noticed it. Since then, she had ^ .carefully struck a medium course--not so clumsy as she had been; at first--but not so rapid as she Jcouldbe. ^T?'1^1
"Ag boo bate?" demanded Betty. She reiterated
the question: "Ag boo bate?'' ^
"Lovely, darling," said Tuppence absently.^ "Beautiful." ^
Satisfied, Betty relapsed into murmurs again.
Her next step. Tuppence thought, could be
managed easily enough. That is to say with the
connivance of Tommy. She saw exactly how to do
it-- ;
Lying there planning, time slipped by. Mrs.'
Sprot came in, breathless, to seek for Betty.
"Oh, here she is. I couldn't think where she had
got to. Oh, Betty, you naughty girl--Oh, dear,
Mrs. Blenkensop, I am so sorry.'' %
) ©sVy Agatha Christie ^ff^. ^
Tuppence sat up in bed. Betty, with an aagelicte
face, w;as contemplating her handiwork. '•[.
She toad removed all the laces from Tuppence's I
shoes aind had immersed them in a glass of water.;''?
She wa;s prodding them now with a gleeful finger. ^
Tuppence laughed and cut short Mrs. Sprot's^l
apologies. ''^H
"Ho'w frightfully funny. Don't worry, Mrs.y,^
Sprot, they'll recover all right. It's my fault.
should have noticed what she was doing. Shewasgiglrather quiet." ||| ||| " |
"I know." Mrs. Sproi?sighed. "WhCTiever^ ^
they're quiet, it's a bad sign. I'll get you some" t
more laices this morning, Mrs. Blenkensop." 2
"Dom't bother," said Tuppence. "They'll dry
none the worse." .^NilS ;' ' ^ :
Mrs. Sprot bore Betty away and tuppence got|§|j
up to piut her plan into execution, sa? W^: %
lsi": ^1"::A^ Ear
Tommy looked rather gingerly at the packet that ^ Tuppence thrust upon him.
"Is this it?" ^ ? "Yes. Be careful. Don't get it over you."
Tommy took a delicate sniff at the packet and
replied with energy:
"No, indeed. What is this frightful stuff?" - "Asafoetida,"
replied Tuppence. "A pinch of
that and you will wonder why your boy friend is
I no longer attentive, as the advertisements say."
"Shades of B.O.," murmured Tommy, f Shortly after that, various incidents occurred. v The first was the Smell in Mr. Meadowes'
room.
Mr. Meadowes, not a complaining man-by
P nature, spoke about it mildly at first, then with in.
creasing firmness.
1 Mrs. Perenna was summoned into conclave.
With all the will in the world to resist, she had to
admit that there was a smell. A pronounced, unpleasant
smell. Perhaps, she suggested, the gas tap
of the fire was leaking.
Bending down and sniffing dubiously, Tommy
remarked that he did not think the smell came
from there. Nor from under the floor. He himself
thought, definitely--a dead rat.
I Mrs. Perenna admitted that she had heard of
such things--but she was sure there were no rats at
^a.;'-.!' .
91
92 iy^ Agatha Christie^SS
Sans Souci. Perhaps a mouse--though she herself
^had never seen a mouse there.
? Mr. Meadowes said with firmness that he
thought the smell indicated at least a rat--and he
added, still more firmly, that he was not going to
sleep another night in the room until the matter
had been seen to. He would ask Mrs. Perenna to .
change his room. jga;
Mrs. Perenna said. Of course, she had just beenSfe
about to suggest the same thing. She was afraid
that the only room vacant was rather a small one
and unfortunately it had no sea view, but if Mr. Hi Meadowes did not mind that-- ^
Mr. Meadowes did not. His only wish was to get|§^ away from the smell. Mrs. Perenna thereupon ac1® companied him to a small bedroom, the door of ,
which happened to be just opposite the doOr of
Mrs. Blenkensop's room, and summoned the|^ adenoidal, semi-idiotic Beatrice to "move Mr.i Meadowes' things." She would, she explained, g
send for "a man" to take up the floor and search
^';.,. ^.^..i'-;',"
for the origin of the smell. ||sg
Matters were settled satisfactorily on this basis. M
The second incident was Mr. Meadowes' hay
fever. That was what he called it at first. Later he
admitted doubtfully that he might just possibly
have caught cold. He sneezed a good deal, and his
eyes ran. If there was a faint elusive suggestion of
raw onion floating in the breeze in the vicinity of
Mr. Meadowes' large silk handkerchief nobody
noticed the fact and indeed a pungent amount of
„,.,.. .^-; NORM? i?-,.., ,.v 93 I"' B: :'- ^
eau de cologne masked the more penetrating
odour.
Finally, defeated by incessant sneezing and
noseblowing, Mr. Meadowes retired to bed for the
day.
";,; It was on the morning of that day that Mrs.
Blenkensop received a letter from her son Douglas.
So excited and thrilled was Mrs. Blenkensop
that everybody at Sans Souci heard about it. The
letter had not been censored at all, she explained,
because fortunately one of Douglas's friends coming
on leave had brought it, so for once Douglas
had been able to write quite fully. N?
"And it just shows," declared Mrs. Blenkensop,
wagging her head sagely, "how little we really
know of what is going on."
After breakfast she went upstairs to her room, ; opened the japanned box and put the letter away.
Between the folded pages were some unnoticeable
grains of rice powder. She closed the box again,
pressing her fingers firmly on its surface.
| As she left her room she coughed, and from
|j opposite came the sound of a highly histrionic
sneeze. ^^ ' ,g:;^;
Tuppence smiled and proceeded downstairs.
She had already made known her intention of
going up to London for the day--to see her lawyer
on some business and to do a little shopping.
Now she was given a good send-off by the as|sembled
boarders and entrusted with various corn- emissions--"only if you have time, of course."
Major Bletchley held himself aloof from this
female chatter. He was reading his paper and guttering appropriate comments aloud. "Damned
swines of Germans. Machine gunning civilian ref94 Agatha Christie
I'll ugees on the roads. Damned brutes
People-"
Tuppence left him still outlining ' I iKi^ do if he were in charge of operations
Sft She made a detour through the 1 Betty Sprot what she would like as j
London. ^V^' H
Betty, ecstatically clasping a sni
hands, gurgled appreciatively. In res
pence's suggestions "A pussy? A
Some coloured chalks to draw wit
cided, "Betty dwar." So the coloun
noted down on Tuppence's list.
As she passed on, meaning to rejo
the path at the end of the garden, sl
pectedly upon Carl von Deinim. He leaning on the wall. His hands were
as Tuppence approached he turne
usually impassive face convulsed wit
Tuppence paused involuntarily an
"Is anything the matter?''
"Ach, yes, everything is the matt
was hoarse and unnatural. "You
here that a thing is neither fish, fl
good red herring, have you not?"
Tuppence nodded.
Carl went on bitterly: ^ "That is what I am. It cannot ;
what I say. It cannot go on. It we
I think, to end everything." ? g ;>? "What do you mean?"
The young man said:
„ "You have spoken kindly to me.
" think, understand. I fled from my
because of injustice and cruelty. I
II find freedom. I hated Nazi Germar
'NORM? -^l'.^'-'^;1 95
am still a German. Nothing can alter that." K Tuppence murmured:
"You must have difficulties, I know--" Ail% HP
"It is not that. I am a German, I tell you. In my ^||
heart--in my feeling. Germany is still my country, ^y, M When I read of German cities bombed, of Germanfc ' ^ oldiers dying, of German aeroplanes brought^ down--they are my people who die. When that§H
old fire-eating Major reads out from his paper,
when he says 'those swine'--I am moved to fury|®j
--I cannot bear it." .',:;; ywss-sye ^^.^'s'awMf1''"" He added quietly: ^ "And so I think it would be best, perhaps, .to ^
end it all. Yes, to end it." g^ Hg Tuppence took hold of him firmly by the arm.
"Nonsense," she said robustly. "Of course you
feel as you do. Anyone would. But you've got to
stick it."
"I wish they would intern me. It would be easier
»o." i- a
"Yes, probably it would. But in the meantime
you're doing useful work--or so I've heard. Useful
not only to England but to humanity. You're ga
working on decontamination problems, aren't,, ..™^4
you?"
His face lit up slightly. g||
"Ah, yes, and I begin to have much success. A
process very simple, easily made and not complicated
to apply."
"Well," said Tuppence, "that's worth doing. ^,,,^ Anything that mitigates suffering is worth while III
--and anything that's constructive and not destructive.
Naturally we've got to call the other side
names. They're doing just the same in Germany.
Hundreds of Major Bletchleys--foaming at the ' ,'nouth. I hate the Germans myself. 'The Ger- 1"
96 Agatha Christie
mans,' I say, and feel waves of loathing. But wnei
I think of individual Germans, mothers sittin)
anxiously waiting for news of their sons, and boy
leaving home to fight, and peasants getting in thi
harvests, and little shopkeepers and some of thi
nice kindly German people I know, I feel quite dif
ferent. I know then they are just human being
and that we're all feeling alike. That's the rea
thing. The other is just the War mask that you pu
on. It's a part of War—probably a necessary par
—but it's ephemeral."
As she spoke she thought, as Tommy had doni
not long before, of Nurse Cavell's words: "Patri
otism is not enough. I must have no hatred in nv
heart."
That saying of a most truly patriotic wornai
had always seemed to them both the high wate
mark of sacrifice, ty''* '^''^ '''; a
Carl von Deinim took her hand and kissed it
He said:
"I thank you. What you say is good and true.
will have more fortitude."
I "Oh, dear," thought Tuppence as she walket
down the road into the town. "How very un
fortunate that the person I like best in this placi
should be a German. It makes everything cock
eyed!" ^
Tuppence was nothing if not thorough. Al
though she had no wish to go to London, shi
judged it wise to do exactly as she had said she wa
going to do. If she merely made an excursiol
somewhere for the day, somebody might see he
N OR M? 97
and the fact would get round to Sans Souci.
No, Mrs. Blenkensop had said she was going to
London and to London she must go.
She purchased a third return and was just leaving
the booking office window when she ran into jSheila Perenna. i:
"Hullo," said Sheila. "Where are you off to? I ^ just came to see about a parcel which seems to ^ have gone astray." ,;,, as^-.,.
Tuppence explained her plans, i^ I&^A;? 'i "Oh, yes, of course," said Sheila carelessly. "I
do remember you saying something about it, but I
hadn't realized it was today you were going. I'll
come and see you into the train."
- Sheila was more animated than usual. She fclooked neither bad tempered nor sulky. She
chatted quite amiably about small details of daily ^iife at Sans Souci. She remained talking to Tup- gApence until the train left the station.
& After waving from the window and watching
the girl's figure recede. Tuppence sat down in her
corner seat again and gave herself up to serious
meditation. ^ '', ;-^ K^.-'ll1!
Was it, she wondered, an accident that Sheila
had happened to be at the station just at that time?
Or was it a proof of enemy thoroughness? Did „,, Mrs. Perenna want to make quite sure that the
Ugarrulous Mrs. Blenkensop really had gone to
London? ^ It looked very much like it. ^
I It was not until the next day that Tuppence was
able to have a conference with Tommy. They had
98 Agatha Christie
agreed never to attempt to communicate with eact1 ||| other under the roof of Sans Souci. |^ gf '"*" Mrs. Blenkensop met Mr. Meadowes as the la(- ^tug ter, his hay fever somewhat abated, was taking a y-.^ft gentle stroll on the front. They sat down on one of ES" the promenade seats.
"Well? "said Tuppence.
ll&l^ Slowly, Tommy nodded his head." He looked p?
gi^r'"" rather unhappy. &
§|S "Yes," he said. "I got something. But, Lord. aB itSS what a day. Perpetually with an eye to the crack of ..,,,
the door. I've got quite a stiff neck." |^
"Never mind your neck," said Tuppence unfeelingly.
"Tell me."
"Well, the maids went in to do the bed and the yas ^B, room, of course. And Mrs. Perenna went in--but was ^B that was when the maids were there and she was
just blowing them up about something. And the
te^ kid ran in once and came out with a woolly dog.'' ^ "Yes, yes. Anyone else?" ^
* 'One person,'' said Tommy slowly. |||g| i™»'
i "Whr»9"
I who- 8Bf
"CarlvonDeinim." SB
"Oh." Tuppence felt a swift pang. So, aft^r
; "When? "she asked. '^^ ^^k
"Lunch time. He came out from the dining
,, : room early, came up to his room, then sneaked ,
across the passage and into yours. He was there fi- about a quarter of an hour.'' s€%I
He paused. .. ? |B "That settles it, I think?" ^ |||
r* Tuppence nodded, s-^^.: -:..- ;*%* ^
-- Yes, it settled it all right. Carl von Deinim could SSI
_ have no reason for going into Mrs. Blenkert|
sop's bedroom and remaining there for a quarter
, ,., .,., NORM? ,.,^ 99
of an hour save one. His complicity was proved.
He must be. Tuppence thought, a marvellous
actor...
His words to her that morning had rung so very*
true. Well, perhaps they had been true in a way.
To know when to use the truth was the essence of
successful deception. Carl von Deinim was a
patriot all right, he was an enemy agent working
for his country. One could respect him for that.
Yes--but destroy him too.
"I'm sorry," she said slowly. ^-^^'yUk. |§
"So am I," said Tommy. "He's a good chap." ^ Tuppence said:
"You and I might be doing the same thing in
Germany." ^
Tommy nodded. Tuppence went on. : ^
"Well, we know more or less where we are. Carl
von Deinim working in with Sheila and her
mother. Probably Mrs. Perenna is the big noise.
Then there is that foreign woman who was talking
to Carl yesterday. She's in it somehow."
"What do we do now?" .^%
"We must go through Mrs. Perenna's room
some time. There might be something there that
would give us a hint. And we must tail her--see
where she goes and whom she meets. Tommy, let's
get Albert down here."
Tommy considered the point. S1^ W-
Some years ago, Albert, a page boy in a hotel,
had joined forces with the young Beresfords and
shared their adventures. Afterwards he had
entered their service and been the sole domestic
prop of the establishment. Some six years ago he
had married and was now the proud proprietor of
The Duck and Dog pub in South London. ,
Tuppence continued rapidly: 4^' &" 100 as^ Agatha Christie I
|^ "Albert will be thrilled. We'll get him down
here. He can stay at the pub near the station and
w he can shadow the Perennas for us--or anyone awi
,„-_ ? else." „,-- , ...Sfe?' S® "What about Mrs. Albert?"|^lSS 3iw'-^ | ;iss "She was going to her mother in Wales with the !§g B children last Monday. Because of Air Raids. It all | "* fits in perfectly." S
"Yes, that's a good idea. Tuppence. Either of
us following the woman about would be rather
conspicuous. Albert will be perfect. Now another ;U^ thing--I think we ought to watch out for that so- j |]% called Czech woman who was talking to Carl and |^ "te hanging about here. It seems to me that she prob- |S|| g^,; ably represents the other end of the business--and Mgi sb that's what we're anxious to find." ,.„.,
|j§| "Oh, yes, I do agree. She comes here for orders, |§8
Kill or to take messages. Next time we see her, one of jtt us must follow her and find out more about her." <Bal' "What about looking through Mrs. Perenna's |
room--and Carol's, too, I suppose?" ypf
"I don't suppose you'll find anything in his.
After all, as a German, the police are liable to ^ ^ search it and so he'd be careful not to have anything
suspicious. The Perenna is going to be diffi- |
.7 cult. When she's out of the house, Sheila is often | h' here, and there's Betty and Mrs. Sprot running f-
about all over the landings, and Mrs. Q'Rpurke | T§| spends a lot of time in her bedroom.'' ^ ; ;
III She paused. . s t?A "Lunch time is the best." ' ,,,,„ "Master Carol's time?" aste^s^is-&
"Exactly. I could have a headache and go to my
room-- No, someone might come up and want to
IH minister to me. I know, I'll just come in quietly
before lunch and go up to my room without telling '
anyone. Then, after lunch, I can say I had a
headache." S|t
"Hadn't I better do it? My hay fever could
recrudesce tomorrow."
"I think it had better be me. If I'm caught I ^'SS, could always say I was looking for aspirin or I
something. One of the gentlemen boarders in Mrs.
Perenna's room would cause far more specula- Hi
twn" Tommy grinned. a^^^S^^-Ng^^g^^^
"Of a scandalous character." fe iSSi y^ Then the smile died. He looked grave and anxb!
"As soon as we can.'old thing. The news is bad ^ today. We must get on to something soon." -g^
igUWW ".»,>» r^Slt^N
'^laSt-. 'i'..'',: >. ;-'?< «*:'--?&.' wr^t
^^.y.
f^: ":w i|®j;|
Tommy c6htinued his walk and presently entered
the post office, where he put through a call
to Mr. Grant, and reported "the recent operation
was successful and our friend C is definitely in|
volved."
Then he wrote a letter and posted it. It was ad- §H y. dressed to Mr. Albert Batt, The Duck and Dog,
| Glamorgan St., Kensington.
|^ ., Then he bought himself a weekly paper which
professed to inform the English world of what was Sa|
I really going to happen and strolled innocently ^ ||?s back in the direction of Sans Souci. 1|| ^ j^fe Presently he was hailed by the hearty voice of K Commander Haydock leaning from his two seater
car and shouting, "Hyllo, Meadowes, want a
"So you reai
Haydock, glanc
side Weekly Ne

Mr. Meadowt
all readers of thi
lenged.
"Awful rag,'
know, they real
on behind the sc
"And sometii
"Oh, quite so
"Truth of it
steering rather <
and narrowly n
"when the begg,
when they're wr
"Do you thin
about Stalin ha

"Wishful thh
said Command*
crooked as Hell
'em, that's what
weather?"
"Just a toucl
time of year."
"Yes, of coui
but I had a pal
ularly every Jun
golf?" ^
a; Tommy said 1
yl "Right. Wha
I've got to go
business, raising
good idea, if yc
to pull our weig
NORM? 103
"Thanks very much. I'd like to."
"Good. Then that's settled."
The Commander drew up abruptly at the gate
of Sans Souci. isyy.-.. ,:,a,.%3,
"How's the fair Sheila?" he asked. Sfe-SS^
^ "Quite well, I think. I haven't seen much of
her." |gg ^ 'm || III ^Haydock gave his loud barking laugh. ""'""Not as much as you'd like to, I bet! Good
looking girl, that, but damned rude. She sees too
much of that German fellow. Damned unpatriotic,
I call it. Daresay she's got no use for old
fogies like you or me, but there are plenty of nice
lads going about in our own services. Why take up
with a bloody German? That sort of thing riles
rM<a "
' vsy. ' ^'f'lSSSS':"^ Mr. Meadowes said: 118 ^"r.'<»'ft^H-fc:a
||g|"Be careful, he's just coming up the hill behind ^us." 1^ |S |
"Don't care if he does hear! Rather hope he
does. I'd like to kick Master Carol's behind for
I', him. Any decent German's fighting for his coun- ; try--not slinking over here to get out of it!"
; "Well," said Tommy. "It's one less German to
invade England at all events.'' §§|
"You mean he's here already? Ha, ha! rathe?
good, Meadowes! Not that I believe this tommy- ;
rot about invasion. We never have been invaded
and never will be. We've got a Navy, thank God!" K; With which patriotic announcement the Comimander
let in his clutch with a jerk and the car
104	Agatha Christie
Tuppence arrived at the gate of Sans Souci at twenty rninutes to two. She turned off from the
drive and went through the garden and into the
house through the open drawing room window. A
smell 01 Irish stew and the clatter of plates and
murmur of voices came from afar. Sans Souci was
hard at ^vork on its midday meal.
Tuppence waited by the drawing room dooi
until Martha, the maid, had passed across the hall
and into the dining room, then she ran quickly ur
the stairs, shoeless. -^ ^
She went into the room, put on her soft felt bedroom
slippers, and then went along the landing and into Mrs. Perenna's room.
Once inside she looked round her and felt a certain
distaste sweep over her. Not a nice job, this
Quite unpardonable if Mrs. Perenna was simpi
Mrs. Perenna. Prying into people's private af
fairs--
Tuppence shook herself, an impatient terriel
shake that was a reminiscence of her girlhood There was a War on! Ȥ
She went over to the dressing table, y:
QuicK and deft in her movements, she had soor
gone through the contents of the drawers there. Ir
the tall bureau, one of the drawers was locked
That seamed more promising.
Tominy had been entrusted with certain tool;
and ha4 received some brief instruction on th<
manipulation of them. These indications he ha< passed <>n to Tuppence.
A deft twist or two of the wrist and the drawe
yielded.
Thert was a cash box containing twenty pound
:: , ^"s NORM? ;- .:©105
in notes and some piles of silver--also a jewel
case. And there was a heap of papers. These last
were what interested Tuppence most. Rapidly she
went through them; necessarily it was a cursory
glance. She could not afford time for more.
| Papers relating to a mortgage on Sans Souci, a
bank account, letters. Time flew past. Tuppence
skimmed through the documents, concentrating
furiously on anything that might bear a double
meaning. Two letters from a friend in Italy, rambling
discursive letters, seemingly quite harmless.
But possibly not so harmless as they sounded. A
letter from one Simon Mortimer, of London--a
dry business-like letter containing so little of
moment that Tuppence wondered why it had been
kept. Was Mr. Mortimer not so harmless as he
seemed? At the bottom of the pile a letter in faded
ink signed Pat and beginning "This will be the last
^letter I'll be writing you, Eileen my darling-- "
No, not that! Tuppence could not bring herself
to read that! She refolded it, tidied the letters on
top of it and then, suddenly alert, pushed the
drawer to--no time to re-lock it--and when the
door opened and Mrs. Perenna came in, she was
searching vaguely amongst the bottles on the
washstand.
LMrs. BIenkensop turned a flustered, but foolish
ace towards her hostess.
"Oh, Mrs. Perenna, do forgive me. I came in
with such a blinding headache, and I thought I
would lie down on my bed with a little aspirin, and
I couldn't find mine, so I thought you wouldn't
mind--I know you must have some because you
fffered it to Miss Minton the other day."
Mrs. Perenna swept into the room. There was a
sharpness in her voice as she said: . *?& W»? '" '
^
^ Agatha Christie ' wa®"s
in*7 1 / 'Why, of course, Mrs. Blenkensop, why ever
>^n't you come and ask me?"
clK^/Well, of course, yes, I should have done
' Ily. But I knew you were all at lunch, and I do
,e^(hate, you know, making a fuss--"
so /^3ssavS> Tuppence, Mrs. Perenna caught up the
y^tle of aspirin from the washstand. ? hc^y 'How many would you like?" she demanded
^yy^^lrs.
Blenkensop accepted three. Escorted by f,s. Perenna she crossed to her own room and
f ^'i__ _i_-_- - -».*.-- ^.1- --____-_.»--,-^ -_-..
h^tle.
i,^j»i4rs. Perenna used her parting shot as she left 7, room.
^^ 'But you have some aspirin of your own, Mrs. ..nkensop. I've seen it." S
g^jfuppence cried quickly:
^ 'Oh, I know. I know I've got some someiwhere, f,, so stupid of me. I simply couldn't Hay my
^^dsonit."
^fA^s. Perenna said, with a, flash of her big white
t^'Well, have a good rest until tea time."s||(;»||| ^he went out, closing the door behind heir. Tup- ^ce drew a deep breath, lying on her bed rigidly p^ t Mrs. Perenna should return.
l^^ad the other suspected anything? Those teeth,
1111 yig and so white--the better to eat you wiith, my
s<f ^r. Tuppence always thought of that whien she
"(^iced those teeth. Mrs. Perenna's hands, too,
ft</ cruel-looking hands.
,_--^Pahe had appeared to accept Tuppence's presi
„£. in her bedroom quite naturally. But latter she ^^Id find the bureau drawer unlocked. Would
^l' suspect then? Or would she think she hiad left
^ . ,_^.,
y NORM? 107
| it unlocked herself by accident? One did do such
|g things. Had Tuppence been able to replace the ^f papers in such a way that they looked much the
? same as before?
' Surely, even if Mrs. Perenna did notice anything
amiss she would be more likely to suspect
Hone of the servants than she would "Mrs. Blenl;*kensop."
And if she did suspect the latter,
I wouldn't it be a mere case of suspecting her of unI
due curiosity? There were people. Tuppence
| knew, who did poke and pry. Sft.'^ '1^^ I But then, if Mrs. Perenna were the renowned
|; German agent, M, she would be suspicious of
KF counterespionage.
„ B8;t Had anything in her bearing revealed undue
H alertness?
ly,. She had seemed natural enough--only that one
sharply pointed remark about the aspirin.
Suddenly, Tuppence sat up on her bed. She ™g remembered that her aspirin, together with some uS iodine and a bottle of soda mints were all together
at the back of the writing table drawer where she
had shoved them when unpacking.
It would seem, therefore, that she was1 not the
only person to snoop in other people's rooms.
Mrs. Perenna had got there first.
,^-W"	If	'^^^<^
On the following day Mrs. Sprot went up to London.
i
A few tentative remarks on her part had led immediately
to various offers on the part of the inhabitants
of Sans Souci to look after Betty. „
^|When Mrs. Sprot, with many final adjurations H
to Betty to be a very good girl, had departed, Betty
attached herself to Tuppence, who had elected to
take morning duty. W^^VW
"Play," said Betty. "Play hide seek."
|g|| She was talking more easily every day and had Is adopted a most fetching habit of laying her head ,
on one side, fixing her interlocutor with a bewitching
smile and murmuring: 8@®%; I
"Peese." '^MS',- L
Tuppence had intended taking her for a walk,
but it was raining hard, so the two of them adjourned
to the bedroom where Betty led the way to „
the bottom drawer of the bureau where her play- s things were kept. .[
"Hide Bonzo, shall we?" asked Tuppence, a
But Betty had changed her mind and demanded IS
instead: ^y".' j^ ig-Wead me story." |^.? :, |gg- A" Tuppence pulled out a rather tattered book
from one end of the cupboard--to be interrupted g by a squeal from Betty. ,, ;^.; a .:
"No, no. Narsty.. .Bad^,.,," ,. ...,,,,,,,^^p®^^
''Ni -n^^^^Nlls^^' ^ Sy,.i l"6 €^s^^»:i'^SjS&s«
^ N OR M? 109
Tuppence stared at her in surprise and then
down at the book, which was a coloured version
of Little Jack Horner.
"Was Jack a bad boy?" she asked. "Because he
pulled out a plum?''
Betty reiterated with emphasis: e ^
"Ba-a-ad!" and with a terrific effort,
"Dirrty!"
She seized the book from Tuppence and replaced
it in the line, then tugged out an identical
book from the other end of the shelf, announcing
with a beaming face: "Sp^ ' ^^^iy?
"K-k-klean ni-i-i c e Jackorner! " ^
Tuppence realized that the dirty and worn
books had been replaced by new and cleaner editions
and was rather amused. Mrs. Sprot was very
much what Tuppence thought of as "the hygienic
mother." Always terrified of germs, of impure
food, or of the child suckling a soiled toy.
Tuppence, brought up in a free and easy Rectory
life, was always rather contemptuous of exaggerated
hygiene and had brought up her own two
children to absorb what she called a "reasonable
amount" of dirt. However, she obediently took
out the clean copy of Jack Horner and read it to
the child with the comments proper to the occasion.
Betty murmuring, "That's Jack!-- Plum!-- In a Pie," pointing out these interesting objects
with a sticky finger that bade fair to soon consign
this second copy to the scrap heap. They proceeded
to Goosey Goosey Gander and the Old
Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, and then Betty hid
the books and Tuppence took an amazingly long
time to find each of them, to Betty's great glee,
and so the morning passed rapidly away.
After lunch Betty had her rest and it was then
110 Agatha Christie
that Mrs. O'Rourke invited Tup room.
Mrs. O'Rourke's room was v
smelled strongly of peppermint
with a faint odour of moth ball
were photographs on every tab! Rourke's children and grandchil<
and nephews and great nieces and
There were so many of them that '
though she were looking at a realis
play of the late Victorian period.
" Tis a grand way you have wit
Blenkensop," observed Mrs. O'Rc
; "Oh, well," said Tuppence,
two--" til ; Mrs. O'Rourke cut in quickly:
"Two? It was three boys I i
had?"
"Oh, yes, three. But two of the
in age and I was thinking of the
them."
"Ah? I see. Sit down now, M:
Make yourself at home."
Tuppence sat down obediently I
| Mrs. O'Rourke did not always m
uncomfortable. She felt now exa<
or Gretel accepting the witch's invi
"Tell me now," said Mrs. 0']
do you think of Sans Souci?"
Tuppence began a somewhat gu
eulogy, but Mrs. O'Rourke cut h(
ceremony.
"What I'd be asking you is if sthere's something odd about the pi;
I "Odd? No, I don't think so."
I "Not about Mrs. Perenna? You
I'll NORM? '^ 111
her, you must allow. I've seen you watching her
and watching her."
Tuppence Hushed. "^ %
"She--she's an interesting woman?'*
"She is not then," said Mrs. O'Rourke. "She's
a commonplace woman enough--that is if she's ?;
what she seems. But perhaps she isn't. Is that your
idea?" :'" ^
"Really, Mrs. O'Rourke, I don't know what you mean." ^
"Have you ever stopped to think that many of w||
us are that way--different to what we seem on the itia surface. Mr. Meadowes, now. He's a puzzling
kind of man. Sometimes I'd say he was a typical
Englishman, stupid to the core, and there's other
times I'll catch a look or a word that's not stupid
at all. It's odd that. don't you think so?"
Tuppence said firmly: ^
"Oh, I really think Mr. Meadowes is very typicaL"
B n| - H
"There are others. Perhaps you'll know who I'll
be meaning?" ?%cS?|liS ' S^* Tuppence shook her head. *^? Istt ȣ;"The
name," said Mrs. O'Rourke encourag- ,,,„
ingly, "begins with an S." lift
She nodded her head several times. Njll;®
With a sudden spark of anger and an obscure ^f impulse to spring to the defense of something |f^ young and vulnerable, Tuppence said sharply: ?;: *
"Sheila's just a rebel. One usually is, at that
age."
Mrs. O'Rourke nodded her head several times,
looking just like an obese china mandarin that
Tuppence remembered on her Aunt Gracie's mantelpiece.
A vast smile tilted up the corners of her
mouth. She said softly:
112 Agatha Chn
"You mayn't know it, but
tian name is Sophia."
"Oh!" Tuppence was ta
Miss Minton you meant?"
"It was not," said Mrs. 0'
Tuppence turned away to
how this old woman could
about her an atmosphere
"Like a mouse between a (
Tuppence. "That's what I fe<
This vast smiling monum<
ting there, almost purring--;
pat-pat of paws playing i wasn't, in spite of the purrinj away...
; Nonsense--all nonsense! I
thought Tuppence, staring 01
the garden. The rain had s
gentle patter of raindrops off
Tuppence thought: "It isi
not a fanciful person. Then
focus of evil here. If I could s
Her thoughts broke off abi
At the bottom of the gard
slightly. In the gap a fac
stealthily up at the house. I
foreign woman who had stoc 8 Deinim in the road.; $J
It was so still, so unblinkir
S seemed to Tuppence as thou
Staring, staring up at the wii
It was devoid of expression,
yes, undoubtedly there was,
mobile, implacable. It repi
some force, alien to Sans So .place banality of English f
NORM?
113


Tuppence thought, might Jael have looked, waiting
to drive the nail through the forehead of sleeping
Sisera. |g ^^WiSIS.
These thoughts took only a second or two to
flash through Tuppence's mind. Turning abruptly
from the window, she murmured something to
Mrs. O'Rourke, hurried out of the room and ran
down stairs and out of the front door. lUl l|g
Turning to the right, she ran down the side
garden path to where she had seen the face. There
was no one there now. Tuppence went through the
shrubbery and out on to the road and looked up
and down the hill. She could see no one. Where
had the woman gone? §|j?
Vexed, she turned and went back into the
grounds of Sans Souci. Could she have imagined
the whole thing? No, the woman had been there.
Obstinately she wandered round the garden,
peering behind bushes. She got very wet and
found no trace of the strange woman. She retraced
her steps to the house with a vague feeling of |%
foreboding--a queer formless dread of something s about to happen.
She did not guess, would never have guessed,
0 i^g-ai- ° r.-'..:-.,'1 :<--,
what that something was going to be. |
^^''i^^^^^f^,
Now that the weather had cleared, Miss Minton
was dressing Betty preparatory to taking her out
for a walk. They were going down to the town to
buy a celluloid duck to sail in Betty's bath.
Betty was very excited and capered so violently
that it was extremely difficult to insert her arms
into the woolly pullover. The two set off together,
114 ^ Agatha Christie
Betty chattering violently: "Byaduck. Byaduck.
For Bettibarf. For Bettibarf," and deriving great
pleasure from a ceaseless reiteration of these important
facts.
Two matches, left carelessly crossed on the marble
table in the hall, informed Tuppence that Mr.
Meadowes was spending the afternoon on the trail
of Mrs. Perenna. Tuppence betook herself to the
drawing room and the company of Mr. and Mrs.
Cayley.
Mr. Cayley was in a fretful mood. He had come
to Leahampton, he explained, for absolute rest
and quiet, and what quiet could there be with a
child in the house? All day long it went on,
screaming and running about, jumping up and
down on the floors--
His wife murmured pacifically that Betty was
really a dear little mite, but the remark met wit!,,
: no favour. 'r'^ '^ g||S |j
"No doubt, no doubt," said Mr. Cayley, wriggling
his long neck. "But her mother should keep
her quiet. There are other people to consider. Invalids,
people whose nerves need repose."
Tuppence said: "It's not easy to keep a child of
that age quiet. It's not natural--there would be
something wrong with the child if she was quiet."
Mr. Cayley gobbled angrily:
"Nonsense--nonsense--this foolish modern
spirit. Letting children do exactly as they please. A
child should be made to sit down quietly and--and
nurse a doll--or read, or something."
"She's not three yet," said Tuppence, smiling.
"You can hardly expect her to be able to read."
"Well, something must be done about it. I shall
speak to Mrs. Perenna. The child was singing,
|gg norm? 115
singing in her bed before seven o'clock this morning.
I had had a bad night and just dropped off
towards morning--and it woke me right up."
"It's very important that Mr. Cayley should get
as much sleep as possible," said Mrs. Cayley anxiously.
"The doctor said so."
"You should go to a nursing home," said Tuppence.
gg Ili^lll
"My dear lady .""such places are" ruinously expensive
and besides it's not the right atmosphere.
There is a suggestion of illness that reacts unfavourably
on my subconscious.''
as
"Bright society, the doctor said," Mrs. Cayley |g:
explained helpfully. "A normal life. He thought a
guest house would be better than just taking a furnished
house. Mr. Cayley would not be so likely to
brood, and would be stimulated by exchanging
ideas with other people."
Mr. Cayley's method of exchanging ideas was,
i so far as Tuppence could judge, a mere recital of '' his own ailments and symptoms and the exchange
consisted in the sympathetic or unsympathetic reception
of them. ^y .,,^
Adroitly, Tuppence changed the subject.saSfl »^^B
"I wish you would tell me," she said, "of your
own views on life in Germany. You told me you
had travelled there a good deal in recent years. It
. would be interesting to have the point of view of
I an experienced man of the world like yourself. I
can see you are the kind of man, quite unswayed
by prejudice, who could really give a clear account
of conditions there."
Flattery, in Tuppence's opinion, should always
be laid on with a trowel where a man was concerned.
Mr. Cayley rose at once to the bait. ,,.,, ..„,„
B BBS BM ' V-:^.
116 Agatha Christie
"As you say, dear lady, I am ca
a clear unprejudiced view. Now
ion—"
What followed constituted a m<
pence, throwing in an occasiona
very interesting," or "What a sl
you are," listened with an attentk
assumed for the occasion. For Mr.
away by the sympathy of his listeni
ing himself as a decided admire
system. How much better it woulc
hinted, if he did not say, for Enj
many to have allied themselves ag<
Europe.
The return of Miss Minton i
celluloid duck duly obtained, bro
monologue, which had extended
nearly two hours. Looking up, Ti
rather a curious expression on Mrs
She found it hard to define. It m
pardonable wifely jealousy at the ir
husband's attention by another wi
be alarm at the fact that Mr. Cayle:
outspoken in his political views.
pressed dissatisfaction.
Tea was the next move and han
the return of Mrs. Sprot from Lo
ing: 'w •'.'„••
"I do hope Betty's been good
blesome? Have you been a good g
which Betty replied laconically by tl
"Dam!"
This, however, was not to be reg
pression of disapproval at her m
but merely as a request for blackbel
NORM? 117
It elicited a deep chuckle from Mrs. O'Rourke
and a reproachful:
"Please, Betty, dear," from the young lady's
parent.
Mrs. Sprot then sat down, drank several cups of
tea, and plunged into a spirited narrative of her
purchases in London, the crowd on the train, what
a soldier recently returned from France had told
the occupants of her carriage, and what a girl
behind the stocking counter had told her of a recent
air raid in one of the suburbs.
fe The conversation was, in fact, completely normal.
It was prolonged afterwards on the terrace
outside, for the sun was now shining and the wet
day a thing of the past.
Betty rushed happily about, making mysterious
expeditions into the bushes and returning with a
laurel leaf, or a heap of pebbles which she placed
in the lap of one of the grown-ups with a confused
and unintelligible explanation of what it
represented. Fortunately she required little cooperation
in her game, being satisfied with an
occasional "How nice, darling. Is it really?"
Never had there been an evening more typical of
Sans Souci at its most harmless. Chatter, gossip,
speculations as to the course of the war--can
France rally? Will Weygand pull things together?
What is Russia likely to do? Could Hitler invade
England if he tried? Will Paris fall if the "bulge"
is not straightened out? Was it true that . . . ?
It had been said that . . . And it was rumoured
that...
Political and military scandal was happily
bandied about.
Tuppence thought to herself: "Chatterbugs a
^ 118 Agatha Christie ^
-^.^ i'-- || danger? Nonsense, they're a safety valve. People s^ en/ov these rumours. It gives them the stimulation
to carry on with their own private worries and
anxieties." She contributed a nice tidbit prefixed ,
by, "My son told me--ofcourse.^his is quite Ife
private, you understand--" y^S Illi^,te Suddenly, with a start, Mrs. Sprot glanced at |
' her watch.
"Goodness, it's nearly seven. I ought to have r
put that child to bed hours ago. Betty--Betty!''
It was some time since Betty had returned to the
terrace, though no one had noticed her defection .§§$1^ Mrs. Sprot called her with rising impatience.
"Bett-eeee! Where can the child be?"
Mrs. O'Rourke said, with her deep laugh: ^tei!^1 "Up to mischief, I've no doubt of it. Tis
always the way when there's peace."
|%a "Betty! I want you."
--j There was no answer and Mrs; Sprot rose impa- i
J^iy- b
?; "I suppose I must go and look for her. I wonder | 'r where she can be?"
Miss Minton suggested that she was hiding
somewhere and Tuppence, with memories of her
own childhood, suggested the kitchen. But Betty
could not be found, either inside or outside the p
house. They went round the garden calling; looking
all over the bedrooms. There was no Betty
anywhere. ^ik '
Mrs. Sprot began to get annoyed, ill "It's very naughty of her--very naughty indeed!
Do you think she can have gone out on the
..-_ road?" p
Together she and Tuppence went out to the gate I
IggSand looked up and down the hill. There was no '"""one in sight except a tradesman's boy with a bicy- f
V --_
"' NORM? 119
cle standing talking to a maid at the door of St.
Lucian's opposite, ^i"^ ,-'^ ; '
On Tuppence's suggestion, she and Mrs. Sprot
crossed the road and the latter asked if either of
them had noticed a little girl. They both shook
their heads and then the servant asked, with sudden
recollection:
| "A little girl in a green checked gingham
dress?" ,'- iv^ -J^ f^'i ^'1 Mrs. Sprot said eagerly:' ftAMi.. ^fc^.,.. :.,,.
s& "That's right." .^fe^a
"I saw her about half an hour ago--going down
the road with a woman."
Mrs. Sprot said, with astonishment:
"With a woman? What sort of a woman?"
The girl seemed slightly embarrassed.
"Well, what I'd call an odd looking kind of
woman. A foreigner she was. Queer clothes. A
kind of shawl thing and no hat, and a strange sort
of face--queer like, if you know what I mean.-1've
| seen her about once or twice lately, and to tell the
truth I thought she was a bit wanting-- If you
know what I mean," she added helpfully.
In a flash Tuppence remembered the face she
had seen that afternoon peering through the
bushes and the foreboding that had swept over her.
But she had never thought of the woman in connection
with the child, could not understand it
now.
I She had little time for meditation, however.
Mrs. Sprot almost collapsed against her. p "Oh, Betty, my little girl. She's been kidnapped.
She--what did the woman look like--a
gypsy?"
Tuppence shook her head energetically.
"No, she was fair, very fair, a broad face with
,-SSyi
120 Agatha Christie j
high cheek bones and blue eyes set very far a
'i- '^-^A'A^'iw "
I
She saw Mrs. Sprot staring at her and hastened :
to explain. K. |
"I saw the woman this afternoons--peering S through the bushes at the bottom of the garden, f ' And I've noticed her hanging about. Carl von ^ja Deinim was speaking to her one day. It must,be Bft j|f|| the same woman." y:^ j||| / |^^':, „'
*>»* "p^g servant girl chimed in to say:SS|
"That's right. Fair-haired, she was. And want- gs,|
ing, if you ask me. Didn't understand nothing that ";a was said to her." "
|g| "Oh, God," moaned Mrs. Sprot. "What shall I '
„, , 'iSSffllA'ia, , i'Aa.S.S.^'St'- S;.k'^^ "
~* Tuppence passed an arm round her. ^:
"Come back to the house, have a little brandy1' gp| | and then we'll ring up the police. It's all right. 3
We'll get her back."
| Mrs. Sprot went with her meekly, murmuring in B a dazed fashion:
"I can't imagine how Betty would go like that
with a stranger."
I "She's very young," said Tuppence. "Not old ,s, ^
enough to be shy." „ ....^ . ; Mrs. Sprot cried out weakly: It^^SlllB'
"Some dreadful German woman, I expect.
__She'll kill my Betty." ^H "Nonsense," said Tuppence robustly. "It will
be all right. I expect she's just some woman who's 1 not quite right in her head." But she did not.,
believe her own words--did not believe for onei$$
' moment that that calm blond woman was an irreSSte
sponsible lunatic.
Carl! Would Carl know? Had Carl something
to do with this?
N OR M? 121
A few minutes later she was inclined to doubt
this. Carl von Deinim, like the rest, seemed
amazed, unbelieving, completely surprised. ';
As soon as the facts were made plain. Major
Bletchley assumed control.
"Now then, dear lady," he said to Mrs. Sprot,
"sit down here--just drink a little drop of this--
brandy--it won't hurt you--and I'll get straight
on to the police station."
Mrs. Sprot murmured:
"Wait a minute--there might be something--"
She hurried up the stairs and along the passage
to hers and Betty's room. .^
^ A minute or two later they heard her footsteps
running wildly along the landing. She rushed
down the stairs like a demented woman and
clutched Major Bletchley's hand from the telephone
receiver, which he was just about to lift.
"No, no," she panted. "You mustn't--you
mustn't..."
And sobbing wildly, she collapsed into a chair.
They crowded around her. In a minute or two,
she recovered her composure. Sitting up, with
Mrs. Cayley's arm round her, she held something
out for them to see.
"I found this--on the floor of my room. It had
been wrapped round a stone and thrown through
the window. Look--look what it says."
Tommy took it from her and unfolded it.
It was a note, written in a queer stiff foreign
handwriting, big and bold. v ^
WE HAVE GOT YOUR CHILD IN SAFE KEEPING.
YOU WILL BE TOLD WHAT TO DO IN DUE
COURSE. IF YOU GO TO THE POLICE YOUR
CHILD WILL BE KILLED. SAY NOTHING. WAIT
FOR INSTRUCTIONS. IF NOT--X.
as
122 Agatha Christie M ^
Mrs. Sprot was moaning faintly:
"Betty--Betty--"
Everyone was talking at once. "The dirty
murdering scoundrels'" from Mrs. O'Rourke.
"Brutes!" from Sheila Perenna. "Fantastic, fantastic--I
don't believe a word of it. Silly practical K /a J°ke," from Mr. Cayley. "Oh, the dear, wee
13 mite," from Miss Minton. "I do not understand, w 1| It is incredible," from Carl von Deinim. And |
above everyone else the strenuous voice of Major fc
Bletchley: iH g% |
ys's' s-f.i.1 if
"Damned nonsense. Intimidation. We must in- $ form the police at once. They'll soon get to the
B bottom of it." '
.... Once more he moved toward the telephone. ,
g^-i sf
This time a scream of outraged motherhood from I
Mrs. Sprot stopped him. ®^
He shouted: w-a a-"-^-1 "** -J'-" ^
"But, my dear Madam, it's got to be done. This
is only a crude device to prevent you getting on the
track of these scoundrels."
"They'll kill her." |gg gg
"Nonsense. Theywouldn't^are.'^ljS^ g^lIlK:
"I won't have it, I tell you. I'm her mother ^s" for me to say."
^'1 know. I know. That's what they're counting
on--your feeling like that. Very natural. But you
must take it from me, a soldier and an experienced
man of the world, the police are what we need."
- "No!" . m
BIetchley's eyes went round seeking allies. t<a ' 'Meadowes, you agree with me? "^^ .;„ _ j|;| Slowly, Tommy nodded. ^'iiSiM - -''
gs "Cayley? Look, Mrs. Sprot, both Meadowes
,and Cayley agree.'' "s^ I Mrs. Sprot said, with sudden energy^^ S®|
"Men! All of you! Ask the women!"
Tommy's eyes sought Tuppence. Tuppence
said, her voice low and shaken: ; ,
"I--IagreewithMrs.Sprot." ?; '^
She was thinking, "Deborah! Derek! If it were
them. I'd feel like her. Tommy and the others are
right, I've no doubt, but all the same I couldn't do
it. I couldn't risk it."
Mrs. O'Rourke was saying: ;
"No mother alive could risk it and that's a
fact."
Mrs. Cayley murmured: ^ ^ ^
"I do think, you know, that--well--" and
tailed off into incoherence. ;
Miss Minton said tremulously: "
"Such awful things happen. We'd never forgive
ourselves if anything happened to dear little
Betty." ss!
Tuppence said sharply: ^
"You haven't said anything, Mr. von Deinim?"
Carol's blue eyes were very bright. His face was a
mask. He said slowly and stiffly:
"I am a foreigner. I do not know your English
police. How competent they are--how quick."
Someone had come into the hall. It was Mrs.
Perenna; her cheeks were flushed. Evidently she
had been hurrying up the hill. She said:
"What's all this?" And her voice was commanding,
imperious, not the complaisant guest
house hostess, but a woman of force. :: ^ ^
They told her--a confused tale told by too
many people, but she grasped it quickly.
And with her grasping of it, the whole thing
seemed, in a way, to be passed up to her for judgment.
She was the supreme court. ' '- ^;
She held the hastily scrawled note a minute,
124 Agatha Christie
v -s •
then she handed it back. Her words came shairp paj ,
K and authoritative.
"The police? They'll be no good. You can't rissk
p;-^ their blundering. Take the law into your ow/n
^ hands. Go after the child yourself." m^ ?
B Bletchley said, shrugging his shoulders: '%;1*
:^g"Very well, If you won't call in the police, it"s
|i5^B the best thing to be done."
wl ,^aTommy said: Ce •.• |||
^a ^'They can't have got much of a^start." J^K:
sate "Half an hour, the maid said," TuppenceTpuit |v.|
in. jg^
"Haydock," said Bletchley. "Haydock's the EN
man to help us. He's got a car. The woman's umusual
looking, you say? And a foreigner? Ought |j :
to leave a trail that we can follow. Come on, H
there's no time to be lost. You'll come along, Hf
• Meadowes?" ,^ ,..,,,,, ^ pi
Mrs.Sprotgotup. ^' m , 8^,,
"I'm coming, too."' ||| B j|:1 „,,
"Now, my dear lady, leave it to us—" |||8 |?'l
' ' "I'm coming, too." i;y;^ s% '^1^ "^^1"
"Oh well_" a.A'i&fc® rfiSfflSS te®.
B He gave in—murmuring something about the |
female of the species being deadlier than the male. |
In the end Commander Haydock, taking in the
situation with commendable Naval rapidity, drove
the car. Tommy sat beside him, and behind were
Bletchley, Mrs. Sprot and Tuppence. Not only did
Mrs. Sprot cling to her, but Tuppence was the
only one (with the exception of Carl von Deinim)
who knew the mysterious kidnapper by sight.
N OR M? 125
The Commander was a good organizer and a
quick worker. In next to no time, he had filled up
the car with petrol, tossed a map of the district
and a larger scale map of Leahampton itself to
Bletchley and was ready to start off.
Mrs. Sprot had run upstairs again, presumably
to her room to get a coat. But when she got into
the car and they had started down the hill she
disclosed to Tuppence something in her handbag.
It was a small pistol. ^ ^''ifS^ ^"tja*
She said quietly: "I" '' "'"'"'"*'* ' '"US
"I got it from Major Bletchley's room. I ft1 member his mentioning one day that he had one."
Tuppence looked a little dubious. ,y , ^
"You don't think that--" ^ ||%j' ".
Mrs. Sprot said, her mouth a thin line: ^ ^
"It may come in useful."
Tuppence sat marvelling at the strange forces
maternity will set loose in an ordinary, commonplace
young woman. She could visualize Mrs.
Sprot, the kind of woman who would normally
declare herself frightened to death of firearms,
coolly shooting down any person who had harmed
her child.
They drove first, on the Commander's suggestion,
to the railway station. A train had left Leahampton
about twenty minutes earlier and it was
possible that the fugitives had gone by it. p'ljj
At the station they separated, the Commander
taking the ticket collector, Tommy the booking
office, and Bletchley the porters outside. Tuppence
and Mrs. Sprot went into the Ladies' Room
on the chance that the woman had gone in there to
change her appearance before taking the train.
One and all drew blank. It was now more difficult
to shape a course. In all probability, as Hay126 Agatha Christie
dock pointed out, the kidnappers had had a car
waiting, and once Betty had been persuaded to
come away with the woman, they had made their
getaway in that. It was here, as Bletchley pointed
out once more, that the co-operation of the police
was so vital. It needed an organization of that
kind who could send out messages all over the
country, covering the different roads.
Mrs. Sprot merely shook her head, her lips
pressed tightly together.
Tuppence said: S|yh
"We must put ourselves in their places. Where
would they have waited in the car? Somewhere as
near Sans Souci as possible, but where a car
wouldn't be noticed. Now let's think. The woman
and Betty walk down the hill together. At the bottom
is the esplanade. The car might have been
drawn up there. So long as you don't leave it unattended
you can stop there for quite a while. The
only other places are the Car Park in James
Square, also quite near, or else one of the small
streets that lead off from the esplanade."
It was at that moment that a small man, with a
diffident manner and pince-nez, stepped up to
them and said, stammering a little:
"Excuse me. ... No offense, I hope ... but I
c-c-couldn't help overhearing what you were asking
the porter just now." (He now directed his
remarks to Major Bletchley.) "I was not listening, 'of course; just came down to see about a parcel
--extraordinary how long things are delayed just
now--movements of troops, they say--but really
most difficult when it's perishable--the parcel, I
mean--and so, you see, I happened to overhear
--and really it did seem the most wonderful coincidence..."___g,g|
____^ |N OR M? 127
Mrs. Sprot sprang forward. She seized him by
the arm.
"You've seen her? You've seen my little girl?"
"Oh, really, your little girl, you say? Now fancy
that—"
Mrs. Sprot cried: "Tell me." And her fingers
bit into the little man's arm so that he winced. ||g
Tuppence said quickly:
"Please tell us anything you have seen as
quickly as you can. We shall be most grateful if
^ you will."
B "Oh, well, really, of course, it may be nothing
at all. But the description fitted so well—"
ggp.. Tuppence felt the woman beside her trembling,
JE^ but she herself strove to keep her manner calm and
"• unhurried. She knew the type with which they
were dealing—fussy, muddle-headed, diffident,
incapable of going straight to the point and worse
if hurried. She said: m ^•S^l^.. j
Hii| "Please tell us." • taa ^;-,.....-a^' I
HBBife "It was only—my name is Robbins, by the way,
Edward Robbins—"
. "Yes, Mr. Robbins." •
"I live at Whiteways, in Ernes Cliff Road, one
of those new houses on the new road—most |
labour saving, and really every convenience, and a '
beautiful view and the downs only a stone's throw
away."
|^| With a glance Tuppence quelled Major Bletch-
ley, who she saw was about to break out, and she
I said:
"And you saw the little girl we are looking
Tor?" ;
"Yes, I really think it must be. A little girl with J
a foreign looking woman, you said? It was really
the woman I noticed. Because, of course, we are
128 Agatha Christie
all on the lookout nowadays for Fifth Columnists,
aren't we? A sharp lookout, that is what they say,
and I always try to do so, and so, as I say, I noticed
the woman. A nurse, I thought, or a maid--a
lot of spies came over here in that capacity, and
this woman was most unusual looking and walking
up the road and on to the downs--with a little
girl--and the little girl seemed tired and rather lagging,
and half past seven, well, most children go to
bed then, so I looked at the woman pretty sharply.
I think it flustered her. She hurried to the road,
pulling the child after her, and finally picked her
up and went on up the path out on to the cliff,
which I thought strange, you know, because there
are no houses there at all--nothing--not until you
get to Whitehaven--about five miles over the
downs--a favourite walk for hikers. But in this
case I thought it odd. I wondered if the woman
was going to signal, perhaps. One hears of so
much enemy activity and she certainly looked
uneasy when she saw me staring at her."
Commander Haydock was back in the car and
had started the engine. He said:
"Ernes Cliff Road, you say? That's right the
other side of the town, isn't it? "
"Yes, you go along the esplanade and past the
old town and then up-- "
The others had jumped in, not listening further
to Mr. Robbins. k?^ i Tuppence called out:"
"Thank you, Mr. Robbins," and they drove off,;
leaving him staring after them with his mouth
open.
They drove rapidly through the town, avoiding
accidents more by good luck than by skill. But the
luck held. They came out at last at a mass of strag-
NORM? 129
gling building development, somewhat marred by
proximity to the gas works. A series of little roads
led up towards the downs, stopping abruptly a
short way up the hill. Ernes Cliff Road was the
third of these.
Commander Haydock turned smartly into it
and drove up. At the end the road petered out on
to bare hillside up which a footpath meandered. %? Bjl
"Better get out and walk here,'' said BletchleyT Haydock said dubiously: ygs "Could almost take the car up. Ground's firm
enough. Bit bumpy but I think she could do it." sb
Mrs. Sprot cried: SilSl7""S:^ WS^ "Oh, yes, please, please. ... We must be
quick." ^8'"';''
BThe Commander murmured to himself.*'
"Hope to goodness we're after the right lot.
That little pip-squeak may have seen any woman a^
i- i -j » wte^sp'sswsw ^wsbbs ff^s ^y with a kid. ffs.^^'^yif. ' t'^ - a®? us &''?&„6;te-,il;!i3 I ' i.^sssssss ,-".J Sim-.,, ..^.--s
The car groaned uneasily as she ploughed her
way up over the rough ground. The gradient was
severe, but the turf was short and springy. They g^, came out without mishap on the top of the rise.
Here the view was less interrupted till it rested in Life? the distance on the curve of Whitehaven Bay.!^
Bletchley said:
"Not a bad idea. The woman could spend the
night up here if need be, drop down into Whitehaven
tomorrow morning and take a train there.",, ;' Haydock said: ||§ %% IS K "No signs of them as far as I can see."
He was standing up holding to his eyes some '2vij. field glasses that he had thoughtfully brought with "' him. Suddenly his figure became tense as he fo- „
,cussed the glasses on two small moving dots. , ; ¥
'""' '' « /-- i w ^^."Ni^t^ ^'^'^
"Got 'em, by Jove.... €9S^ fi*
130 Agatha Chftristie
He dropped into the driveler's seat again and the
car bucketed forward. The <? chase was a short one
now. Shot up in the air, tos.«ssed from side to side,
the occupants of the car gaiained rapidly on those
two small dots. They could 1 be distinguished now
--a tall figure and a shortrt one--nearer still, a
woman holding a child by tithe hand--still nearer,
yes, a child in a green ginghaiun frock. Betty. ?
Mrs. Sprot gave a strangled cry.
"All right now, my dear,'," said Major Bletchley,
patting her kindly. "We"'ve got 'em."
They went on. Suddenly tithe woman turned and
saw the car advancing towardds her.
With a cry she caught up ' the child in her arms
and began running. ^
She ran, not forward, butt sideways toward the
edge of the cliff.
The car, after a few yards,, could not follow, the
ground was too uneven and blocked with big boulders.
It stopped and the occurpants tumbled out.
Mrs. Sprot was out first and running wildly .^after the two fugitives. ; i----
"^'^ ' "' "'' I
.3181 The others followed her. . i
When they were within tw/enty yards, the other
woman turned at bay. She wais standing now at the
very edge of the cliff. Witth a hoarse cry she
clutched the child closer. gg|g apt
Haydock cried out: ^ A(&
"My God, she's going to throw the kid over the
cliff...."
The woman stood there, cliatching Betty tightly.
Her face was disfigured with 9. frenzy of hate. She
uttered a long hoarse sentence that none of them
understood. And still she held the child and
looked from time to time at the drop below--not a
yard from where she stood. _
^ NORM? 131
It seemed clear that she was threatening to
throw the child over the cliff. &,
All of them stood there, dazed, terrified, unable ^'S to move for fear of precipitating a catastrophe. ^
Haydock was tugging at his pocket. He pulled ''^ out a service revolver, a^^,,.. ,tc,^,^<,^a-:.^-^
He shouted:
"Put that child down--or I fire." ?||
The foreign woman laughed. She held the child
closer to her breast. The two figures were moulded
into one. I ' :-i<-^y. -.^! '.. -"y?:
Haydock muttered: .^."osfe* -^ rii;:;,^ ..,
"I daren't shoot. I'd hit the child."; ^ ;%S
Tommy said: |%|
"The woman's crazy ."She1'!)jump over with the
child in another moment.'' ^a(^M('^!K g,. Haydock said again, helplessly: ^^^-S^fe^ |^|
i "I daren't shoot--" KW III tS
But at that moment a shot rang out. The woman
swayed and fell, the child still clasped in her arms.
The men ran forward. Mrs. Sprot stood swaying, the smoking pistol in her hand, her eyes ^'^aa
dilated- -^:»^ ss
She took a few stiff steps forward. - ^S^fefe ^ Tommy was kneeling by the bodies. He turned I them gently. He saw the woman's face--noted
appreciatively its strange wild beauty. The eyes iSfj^ opened, looked at him, then went blank. With a 'S^ little sigh, the woman died, shot through the head. k^,
Unhurt, little Betty Sprot wriggled out and ran ;;¥ towards her mother who was standing like a 'T statue. ^.- ^
-:.,A'j' ''i":'.;?',
Then, at last, Mrs. Sprot crumpled. She flung
away the pistol and dropped down, clutching the
child to her. w--wse <- ^s", ..
She cried: ^:., 'S-^-l' ^ '
132 » Agatha Christie
"She's safe--she's safe-- Oh, Betty-- Betty." And then, in a low, awed whisper:
"Did I-- did I-- kill her?"^ Tuppence said firmly:
"Don't think about it-- don't think about it.
Think about Betty. Just think about Betty."
Mrs. Sprot held the child close against her, sobbing.
I;
Tuppence went forward to join the men. ti " Haydock murmured;
"Bloody miracle. I couldn't have brought off
a shot like that. Don't believe the woman's ever
handled a pistol before either--sheer instinct. A
miracle, that's what it is."
Tuppence said: .;^ :. ^ "Thank God! It was a near thing!" And she
looked down at the sheer drop to the sea below
and shuddered. _ ^ ^ _
,f^^~	>»>»<,
<?
Is;?; ts? ' .
It was not until some days later that Mrs. BIenkensop
and Mr. Meadowes were able to meet and
compare notes.
The intervening days had been busy. The dead
woman had been identified as Vanda Polonska, a
Polish refugee who had entered the country soon
after the outbreak of war. Very little was known
about her, but she appeared to have received certain
sums of money from an unknown source
which pointed to the probability of her being an
enemy agent of some kind.;" ;
"And so it's a blank wall as usual," said
Tommy gloomily, w^ / g ?;g -y^
Tuppence nodded. sbs Jzfes '
"Yes, they seal up both ends, don't they? No
papers, no hints of any kind as to who she had
dealings with."
' 'Too damned efficient,'' said Tommy.
He added:
"You know, Tuppence, I don't like the look of things." ss
Tuppence assented. The news was indeed far
from reassuring.
The French Army was in retreat and it seemed
doubtful if the tide could be turned. Evacuation
from Dunkerque was in progress. It was clearly a
matter of a few days only before Paris fell. There
was a general dismay at the revelation of lack of.
,; „<,
L 133
134&s; Agatha Christie ^^-wb.,.,
SN
equipment and of material for resisting the Ger-gp;
mans' great mechanized units, w^y ;.,?Tommy
said: tei ^ "Is it only our usual muddling and slowness?
Or has there been deliberate engineering behind
this?" gi$
"The latter, I think, but they'll Sever be able to
prove it." gy.^
"No. Our adversaries are too darned clever forife :^' that." & H -^sm '' We are combing out a lot of the rot now." ?gp "Oh, yes, we're rounding up the obvious g people, but I don't believe we've got at the brains % I
that are behind it all. Brains, organization, ais/ whole carefully thought-out plan--a plan which „.,,,, uses our habits of dilatoriness, and our petty
feuds, and our slowness for its own ends." ^fi ? Tuppence said: " "
"That's what we're here for--and we haven't sags, got results." JP* "We've done something," Tommy reminded her. @6
"Carl von Deinim and Vanda Polonska, yes. 5;
The small fry." |!^ |||
H'' You think they were working together?''" ^ "I think they must have been," said Tuppence ^^ thoughtfully. "Remember, I saw them talking."
"Then Carl von Deinim must have engineered ^^ the kidnapping." ^ 'ff^ ' | "I suppose so." 'a'" " "^i g|| "*"' 8 "But why?" ''"' vffiv' ''
"I don't know," said Tuppence. "That's what I keep thinking and thinkjng about. It doesn't make p sense. "||| ?w|l| K
"Why kidnap that particular child? Who are
j the Sprots? They've no money--so it isn't ran' som. They're neither of them employed by the
I NORM? ,. - 135
| Government in any capacity."
J"I know. Tommy. It just doesn't make any
sense at all." ' %%"
"Hasn't Mrs. Sprot any idea herself?" ^3
"That woman," said Tuppence scornfully,
"hasn't got the brains of a hen. She doesn't think
at all. Just says it's the sort of thing the wicked
Germans would do."
"Silly ass," said Tommy. "The Germans are
efficient. If they send one of their agents to kidnap
a brat, it's for some reason."
"I've a feeling, you know," said Tuppence,
"that Mrs. Sprot could get at the reason if only
she'd think about it. There must be something
--some piece of information that she herself has
inadvertently got hold of, perhaps without knowing
what it is exactly."
1; "Say nothing. Wait for instructions." Tommy Quoted from the note found on Mrs. Sprpt's
E bedroom floor. "Damn it all, that means something."

"Of course it does--it must. The only thing I
can think of is that Mrs. Sprot, or her husband,
has been given something to keep by someone else
--given it, perhaps, just because they are such
humdrum ordinary people that no one would ever
suspect they had it--whatever 'it' may be."
"It's an idea, that."
| "I know--but it's awfully like a spy story. It
doesn't seem real somehow."
"Have you asked Mrs. Sprot to rack her brains
a bit?"
"Yes, the trouble is that she isn't really interested.
All she cares about is getting Betty back- that, and having hysterics because she's shot
someone." '
i ,-fc^" . ISS
»36	Agatha Christie
"Funny creatures, women," mused Tommy.
| ' 'There was that woman, went out that day like an
avenging fury, she'd have shot down a regiment in
ss cold blood without turning a hair just to get her ^a^child back, and then, having shot the kidnapper
S%by a perfectly incredible fluke, she breaks down
Band comes all over squeamish about it."
"The coroner exonerated her all right," said
:e* ™
Tuppence.
"Naturally. By Jove, I wouldn't have risked
^.'^.'"V ' ^ ^a^'ifiSLai'K-ai".^. I,..,
firing when she did ^ ^ s«.^ -^ |r
Tuppence said: ^
g "No more would she, probably, if she'd known
IHg more about it. It was sheer ignorance of the difIH
ficulty of the shot that made her bring it off;",
S^;,,-..'Tommy nodded. '''" a' '"Quite Biblical," he said. "David and GolF
ath." ^'
"T»g"0h!"
Hi "What is it, old thing?" "^ ^Lwg
^ "I don't quite know. When you said that some- 1SS thing twanged somewhere in my brain, and now
it's gone again!" Sfe 1^''1 Sp^^S
"Very useful," said Tommy. "^^-^
"Don't be scathing. That sort of thing does
happen sometimes."
"Gentleman who drew a bow at a venture, was
that it?" '.'"S
"No, it was--wait a minute--I think it was
something to do with Solomon."
"Cedars, temples, a lot of wives and concubines?"

"Stop," said Tuppence, putting her hands to
her ears. "You're making it worse."
_ "Jews?" said Tommy hopefully. "Tribes of
Israel?" ^ vss
NORM? 137
But Tuppence shook her had. After a minute or
two she said:
"I wish I could remember who it was that
woman reminded meof."
"The late Vanda Polonska?" ^J "Yes. The first lime I saw her her face seemed ^ vaguely familiar." ^ ||
"Do you think you had come across her somewhere
else?" |a$
"No, I'm sure I hadn't." feSs
"Mrs-Perenna and Sheila are a totally different
type."ig '.". s§ cn^
"Oh, yes, it wasn't them. You know. Tommy,
about those two. I've been thinking. "^^ "To any good purpose?" "*" "I'm not sure. It's about that note--the one
Mrs. Sprot found on the floor in her room when
Betty was kidnapped." '.,("
"Well?"
"All that about its being wrapped round a stone
and thrown through the window is rubbish. It was
put there by someone--ready for Mrs. Sprot to
find--and I think it was Mrs. Perenna who put it
there-" ' IN
"Mrs. Perenna, Carl, Vanda Polonska--all ;
working together."
"Yes. Did you notice how Mrs. Perenna came
in just at the critical moment and clinched things
--not to ring up the police? She took command of
the whole situation."
| "So she's still your selection for M?"
"Yes, isn't she yours?" .^ .
"I suppose so, "said Tommy slowly. '^ "Why, Tommy, have you got another idea?" ,
"It's probably an awfully dud one." ^ "Tell me." -'-. i" --
138 Agatha Christie %^
, .--^ s,S ^S "No, I'd rather not. I've nothing to go on.
Nothing whatever. But if I'm right, it's not M
we're up against, but N." ysSf 'Vg^:'^. -^ He thought to himself: ^-HS ^ jIBl "Bletchley. I suppose he's all right. Why ? I shouldn't he be? He's a true enough type--almost ^ too true, and after all, it was he who wanted to y ring up the police. Yes, but he could have been |
pretty sure that the child's mother wouldn't stand I
^'"-' i-7 for the idea. The threatening note made sure of Ki K
that. He could afford to urge the opposite point of
.,v'ew-" ^r a - SB! I
yS And that brought him back again to the vexing,
| leasing problem to which as yet he could find no gF1"-"'
I answer. . wg ^y;. ^«;.'
^ Why kidnap Betty Sprot? „ ,, ,
; t,, we&s-iv'yMwSXSt. . ,. ... p sisac, . sis-' There was a car standing outside Sans Souci
bearing the word police on it.
Absorbed in her own thoughts Tuppence took
little notice of that. She turned in at the drive and
entering the front door went straight upstairs to
her own room. ^
She stopped, taken aback, on the threshold, as a
tall figure turned away from the window.
"Dear me, "said Tuppence. "Sheila?"
The girl came straight towards her. Now Tuppence
saw her more clearly, saw the blazing eyes
deep set in the white tragic face. ("^ ^|
Sheila said: ^ I' "
"I'm glad you've come. I've been waiting for g, you." aS
"What's the matter?" : ;
NORM? ^ 139
The girl's voice was quiet and devoid of emotion.
She said: %; ^te "They have arrested Carl!" - '.^' "The police?" ™ ;,"Yes."
.<& "Oh, dear," said Tuppence. She felt inadequate
to the situation. Quiet as Sheila's voice had been,
Tuppence was under no misapprehension as to
what lay behind it.
Whether they were fellow conspirators or not,
this girl loved Carl von Deinim, and Tuppence felt
her heart aching in sympathy with this tragic
young creature. '.'A'-tS '' ' '^^Sl,
Sheilasaid: ' ^"fl :-a 'vS. .-.y^
» "What shall I do?" fc --" -- SS The simple forlorn question made Tuppence
wince. She said helplessly:
"Oh, my dear." ,f ;
Sheila said, and her voice was like a mourning
harp:
"They've taken him away. I shall never see him
a8ain" ---- ^r- w? .-^ '
She cried out: '>?:"* : ^^ '11'1
"What shall I do? What shall I do?" And Hinging
herself down on her knees by the bed, she wept
her heart out.
Tuppence stroked the dark head. She said presently,
in a weak voice:
"It--it may not be true. Perhaps they are only
going to intern him. After all, he is an enemy
alien, you know."
"That's not what they said. They're searching
his room now."
Tuppence said slowly, "Well, if they find
nothing--"
140 Agatha Christie
"They will find nothing, of course! What te should they find?" ^ " I don' t know. I thought perhaps you might? " ||
Her scorn, her amazement were too real to be g- | feigned. Any suspicions Tuppence had had that ? Sheila Perenna was involved died at this moment. ^^
The girl knew nothing, had never known any-jj|g^ .^ thing.
VSi Tuppence said:^.-^' IIN';^ B IS^ 5|| "If he is-innocent--^'^^IW'" :
^""" Sheila interrupted he,r™^'^ *^*afee-yA.^ ^ ' "What does that maitter? The police will make a sk ; ^
case agairist him." i^ t - L _ Tuppence said sharplly: B ' ^.R^' B "Nonsense, my deiar child, that really isn't
"true." i||f ^i^^
"The English policce will do anything. My^-r Mother says so." ;
"Your Mother may' say so, but she's wrong. I i
assure you that it isn't sso." ie ' ;
Sheila looked at her r doubtfully for a minute or two. Then she said: |gp °a
B" Very well. I f you saay so. I trust you." igci "5 Tuppence felt very^r uncomfortable. She said ^ ;
sharply: J a
"You trust too muuch, Sheila. You may have ^ been unwise to trust Caarl."
g "Are you against hirim, too? I thought you liked B him. He thinks so, too.)." A
Touching young thhings--with their faith in
one's liking for them.i. And it was true--she had
liked Carl--she did likece him. I'll ||| |g§
H Rather wearily she sasaid:
"Listen, Sheila, likiring or not liking has nothing
to do with facts. This c, country and Germany are at --
Nil NORM? 141
^ war. There are many ways of serving one's coun|^
try. One of them is to get information--and to
II work behind the lines. It is a brave thing to do, for
I; when you are caught, it is"--her voice broke a 8: little--"the end." Bff^^ Sheilasaid: ^^^N^^ <;" ^p^p
"You think Carl-- 3^ ^ "Might be working for his country that way? It His a possibility, isn't it?" ^
"No,"saidSheila. ^'^^nb :^ "It would be his job, you see, to come over here
as a refugee, to appear to be violently anti-Nazi
and then to gather information. 'g«^w-w-w.--'.-'. a™
Sheila said quietly:
"It's not true. I know Carl. I know his heart
and his mind. He cares most for science--for his
work--for the truth and the knowledge in it. He is
grateful to England for letting him work here.
Sometimes, when people say cruel things, he feels ,q German and bitter. But he hates the Nazis always :^|
and what they stand for--their denial of freedom."
T'*1-kMA*«AA n««J. '^'sg..^- . ^i..-}:-^'s^i."^"i^^?^^^.;l*:sf;^;;f;;fe
tuppence said; ^syii ?% "He would say so, of course." .-^A-a- ^j
Sheila turned reproachful eyes upon her.
" So you believe he is a spy ?" ^$ ^ .^ "I think it is"--Tuppence hesitated--"a possi^"ty."
p ,;||^
Sheila walked to the door. B<a '^id '*! see. I'm sorry I came to ask you to help us." .vl^
"But what did you think I could do, dear ^3
ehild?" ;y:,,, :f;|
"You know people. Your sons are in the Army ;
and Navy and I've heard you say more than once
that they knew influential people. I thought per- ("aps you could get them to--to do--something?"
142 Agatha Christie
Tuppence thought of those mythical creatures,
Douglas and Raymond and Cyril.
"I'm afraid," she said, "that they couldn't do
anything."
Sheila flung her head up. She said passionately:
"Then there's no hope for us. They'll take him
away and shut him up, and one day, early in the
morning, they'll stand him against a wall and
shoot him--and that will be the end.''
She went out, shutting the door behind her.
„,„ "Oh, damn, damn, damn the Irish!" thought
I Tuppence in a fury of mixed feelings. "Why have
they got that terrible power of twisting things until
you don't know where you are? If Carl von Deilum's
a spy, he deserves to be shot. I must hang on
JB to that, not let that girl with her Irish voice
II bewitch me into thinking it's the tragedy of a hero
J and a martyr!" ft^ 7
II She recalled the voice of a famous actress speak|
ing a line from Riders to the Sea. y^ H "It's the fine quiet time they'll be having^."
I Poignant . . . carrying you away on a tide of
feeling...
I She thought, "If it weren't true. Oh, if only it
(I weren't true...."
Yet, knowing what she did, how could she
doubt? a „„,
The fisherman on the end of the Old Pier cast in
his line and then reeled it cautiously in. , ^ "No doubt whatever, I'm afraid," he said.
"You know," said Tommy, "I'm sorry about
it. He's--well, he's a nice chap." »
is norm? a 143
"They are, my dear fellow, they usually are. It ;isn't the skunks and the rats of a land who volunteer
to go to the enemy's country. It's the brave
Ill-men. We know that well enough. But there it is, ^he case is proved." ^ .^ "No doubt whatever, you say?"
"No doubt at all. Among his chemical formulae
B;was a list of people in the factory to be ap(K^proached,
as possible Fascist sympathizers. There
(l|was also a very clever scheme of sabotage and a
|i<:hemical process that, applied to fertilizers, would
Chave devastated large areas of food stocks. All gwell up Master Carol's street."
I Rather unwillingly, Tommy said, secretly ^anathematizing Tuppence who had made him romise to say it:
"I suppose it's not possible that these things
ould have been planted on him?"
Mr. Grant smiled, rather a diabolical smile. ^ "Oh," he said. "Your wife's idea, no doubt.y. "Well--er--yes, as a matter of fact it is." |||
"He's an attractive lad," said Mr. Grant tolerantly.
iSy
Then he went on:A5T:'^ i;a- '" """ "No, seriously, I don't think we can take that
suggestion into account. He'd got a supply of
secret ink, you know. That's a pretty good clinching
test. And it wasn't obvious as it would have
been if planted. It wasn't 'the mixture to be taken
when required' on the washstand or anything like
that. In fact, it was damned ingenious. Only come
across the method once before and then it was
waistcoat buttons. Steeped in the stuff, you know.
When the fellow wants to use it, he soaks a button
in water. Carl von Deinim's wasn't buttons. It was
a shoe-lace. Pretty neat." ^ <^ ay: iaagy-ii
r L
___'; Agatha Cystic
*,r^d in Tommy's mind144
Something stirre
. .lolly nebulous- ^ ^ as he retailed
" ;ce was quicker. ^ on the salient
vague-wl^^ to her. sHe seized
Tuppen that explains it!" -- the conve^ ^, Tommy.that e P
point. ,„ remember that i
:^ ^idlc?.D^^ takin^outmy J
"Betty caking them i^i^'of doing. But. of
laces anc^,^ ^^ Carl i^mg about it and so I
time it w^^n't risk he<_ ^^ her to be kidcourse.
^ ^ith that w0"1
himH(' .hat's cleared up." g he arrai..,_;,i "Thenth"1. ...in in fall into
napped It's nice when """r;-,. , .
T^ou can put them behind you and get on a
Yes ^ s ^needtogeton." ^ fe
Dit i " ' ' ?iiS"''~-
...,,ence nodded. , p ", ^times were eloo"^ mdeed- France had ------------tlmes[ weres^^^ capitulated-to the
.S^'^'^ Nlvy w" »
bewil
Th, ^. ^. France were entirely in the
-- --'-- -- ---*~ -- -- -- ---^««/»
t10"13,^ Germany and t»N^ remote conting^y-
"""Troy said: ^nly a li^ in the c11310lon&ri
von Deiniin w^s,
^erenna's the fou^ ^ on her. But it
's we've got to S^eeasy."
the brains of the whole
,. After all, it ^ be -- w01 one can't expect l11
"WasMMrs.Perenna?"
Tommy supposed she must be. He said slowly:
"You really think the girl isn't in this at all?"
"I'm quite sure of it." „ .,^
Tommy sighed. B^," 'f',"; ;®]
"Well, you should know. But if so, it's tough
luck on her. First the man she loves--and then her
mother. She's not going to have much left, is
she?" aw... - -.t®^ "We can't help that." %!]?.: ::''..
"Yes, but supposing we're wrong--that M or N
i rt», ^^ 'I'^^^^^^^^y^WiV^^t^S^^
is someone else? g||;
Tuppence said rather coldly: ~ "So you're still harping on that? Are you sure it
isn't a case of wishful thinking?" ,,.,,,.,.
' What do you mean?'' ,,. ,^^_
"Sheila Perenna--that's what I mean."^;^^g
"Aren't you being rather absurd, Tuppence?"
"No, I'm not. She's got round you. Tommy,
just like any other man--" ySSSW!^ 'yvSKtS Tommy replied angrily:
"Not at all. It's simply that I've got my own
ideas." . ,, it *?% "Which are?"
"I think I'll keep them to myself for a bit. We'll
_e which of us is right."
^JB "Well, I think we've got to go all out after Mrs. ^P^ana. Find out where she goes, whom she
meets--everything. There must be a link somewhere.
You'd better put Albert on to her this
afternoon." ^
"You can do that. I'm busy.""Bi|,.,„,
I "Why, what are you doing?" l$a frt §1
Tommy said: Kgs W ^-^ S& "^Rteyinggolf."^ B1..-^ ^
y . ^'Hiill
„, vsM
_^^rW- -»>-»X^
^» -;^-;?.-^ .-- • ^ • - ^.A—-'
Seems quite like old times, doesn't it, Madam?'
said Albert. He beamed happily. Though now, ii
his middle years, running somewhat to fat, Alber
had still the romantic boy's heart which had firs
led him into associations with Tommy andJTup
pence in their young and adventurous days.
"Remember how you first came across me?'
demanded Albert. "Cleanin' of the brasses, I was
in those top notch flats. Coo, wasn't that hal
porter a nasty bit of goods? Always on to me, hi
was. And the day you come along and strung me i
tale! Pack of lies it was, too, all about a crool
called Ready Rita. Not but what some of it didn'
turn out to be true. And since then, as you migh
say, I've never looked back. Many's the adventun
we had afore we all settled down, so to speak."
Albert sighed, and by a natural association o;
ideas Tuppence inquired after the health of Mrs
Albert.
"Oh, the Missus is all right—but she doesn'
take to the Welsh much, she says. Thinks the



„,,,, . :s^- N OR M? Mfiw 147
"I don't know," said Tuppence, suddenly strick- ;; en, "that we ought to get you into this, Albert." I "Nonsense, Madam," said Albert. "Didn't I ;try and join up and they was so haughty they
wouldn't look at me. Wait for my age group to be jt} called up, they said. And me in the pink of health
gand only too eager to get at them perishing Ger'
mans--if you'll excuse the language. You just tell
me how I can put a spoke in their wheel and spoil
their goings on--and I'm there. Fifth Column,
E that's what we're up against, so the papers say--
though what's happened to the other four they ^ don't mention. But the long and short of it is, I'm
i ready to assist you and Captain Beresford in any
I way you like to indicate."
"Good. Now I'll tell you what we want you to
'aw.-.w's-w "-s&mrs y^'^^SSSB^SSS^
"How well do you know Bletchley?" asked
Tommy, as he stepped off the tee and watched
Bwith approval his ball leaping down the centre of
Wk I f "K^-, -.""!
^§th^ fsiiru/siv 'y''^''' >i;'iy
j|i"e lairway. ^y ^^ P Commander Haydock who had also done a } good drive had a pleased expression on his face as.,
K he shouldered his clubs and replied:
"Bletchley? Let me see. Oh! About nine months
Bor so. He came here last Autumn.'' |||j |^, "Friend of friends of yours, I think you said?"
I Tommy suggested mendaciously. a||
"Did I?" The Commander looked a little sur5318 prised. "No, I don't tlynk so. Rather fancy I met
- him here at the Club." g^ ^:
"Bit of a mystery man, I gather?"
The Commander was clearly surprised this time.
148 Agatha Christie
"Mystery man? Old Bletchley?" He sounded
frankly incredulous. J^
Tommy sighed inwardly. He supposed he was
imagining things, y,
He played his next shot--and topped it. Hays? dock had a good iron shot that stopped just short
of the green. As he rejoined the other, he said:
| "What on earth makes you call Bletchley a mys|g
tery man? I should have said he was a painfully^ prosaic chap--typical Army. Bit set in his ideasp
and all that--narrow life, an Army life--but,
mystery!" ^ -- s^ Tommy said vaguely: ||
"Oh, well, I just got the idea from something"
somebody said--"
They got down to the business of putting. The
Commander won the hole.
"Three up and two to play," he remarked with
satisfaction.
Then, as Tommy had hoped, his mind, free of
the preoccupation of the match, harked back to ,^what Tommy had said.
S|S8 "What sort of mystery do you mean?" he
asked. ';'- . . |||.
Tommy shrugged his shoulders, p
"Oh, it was just that nobody seemed to know ' much about him." ^r-ya; ^k
"HewasintheRugbyshires." i^*®^?!. [ "Oh. you know that definitely?" EB BI B
| "Well, I--well, no, I don't know myself. I say,
r Meadowes, what's the idea? Nothing wrong about ^Bletchley, is there?''
i8*"8 "No, no, of course not." Tommy's disclaimer
came hastily. He had started his hare. He could
now sit back and watch the Commander's mind
fidodging after it. ^
N OR M? 149
"Always struck me as an almost absurdly typical
sort of chap,'' said Haydock. »;
"Just so,just so."
"Ah, yes--see what you mean. Bit too much of
a type, perhaps?"
"I'm leading the witness," thought Tommy.
"Still perhaps something may crop up out of the
old boy's mind." s|
"Yes, I do see what you mean," the Commander
went on thoughtfully. "And now I come
to think of it I've never actually come across
anyone who knew Bletchley before he came down
here. He doesn't have any old pals to stay- nothing of that kind."
"Ah!" said Tommy--and added, "Shall we
play the bye? Might as well get a bit more exercise.
It's a lovely evening."
They drove off, then separated to play their
next shots. When they met again on the green,
Haydock said abruptly:
"Tell me what you heard about him?i'>*
"Nothing--nothing at all." ' ; "No need to be so cautious with me. Meadowes.
I hear all sorts of rumours. You understand?
Everyone comes to me. I'm known to be
pretty keen on the subject. What's the idea--that
i Bletchley isn't what he seems to be?''
I "It was only the merest suggestion."
"What do they think he is? A Hun? Nonsense,
the man's as English as you and I." ''
"Oh, yes, I'm sure he's quite all right."
"Why, he's always yelling for more foreigners
to be interned. Look how violent he was against
that young German chap--and quite right, too, it
seems. I heard unofficially from the Chief Constable
that they found enough to hang von Deinim
150 .,:-:: |%|| Agatha Christie
t^ts
a dozen times over. He'd got a scheme to poison ||
the water supply off the whole country and he was |g, actually working oiut a new gas--working on it in ^ one of our factori»es. My God, the shortsighted- fe ness of our people!! Fancy letting the fellow inside
the place to begim with. Believe anything, our
Government would! A young fellow has only to|
come to this counitry just before war starts and
whine a bit about ipersecution and they shut both' eyes and let him intto all our secrets. They were just
as dense about thatt fellow Hahn--" Sfe
Tommy had no intention of letting the Commander
run ahead on the well-grooved track. He ||, deliberately missed a putt. IIs
"Hard lines," (cried Haydock. He played a ||
careful shot. The bsall rolled into the hole. ^
"My hole. A but off your game today. What
were we talking abcout?" ,,,^ y^^, y™, -..^;,y;|
Tommy said firnnly: .'y'SS %IS ' ' "About BIetchle;y being perfectly all right.''
"Of course. Of course. I wonder now--I did
hear a rather funnyy story about him--didn't think ^ anything of it at thee time-- " |
Here, to Tommy/'s annoyance, they were hailed |
by two other men. The four returned to the club-H- house together amd had drinks. After that, the
Commander lookeed at his watch and remarked |
that he and Meaddowes must be getting along. |
Tommy had acceptted an invitation to supper with
the Commander.
Smugglers' Rest; was in its usual condition of»K apple pie order. A^ tall middle-aged manservant |
waited on them wiith the professional deftness of E..
a waiter. Such perrfect service was somewhat unusual
to find outsidie of a London restaurant. aas
N OR M? 151
When the man had left the room. Tommy commented
on the fact. ' S ?
"Yes, I was lucky to get Appledore."
"How did you get hold of him?"
"He answered an advertisement as a matter of
fact. He had excellent references, was clearly far
superior to any of the others who applied and
asked remarkably low wages. I engaged him on
the spot." yyi^-r"^" ^^ Tommy said with a laugh: ^^^-^^ a^-
"The war has certainly robbed us of most of
our good restaurant service. Practically all good
waiters were foreigners. It doesn't seem to come
naturally to the Englishman.'' ^
"Bit too servile, that's why. Bowing and scraping
doesn't come kindly to the English bulldog."
Sitting outside, sipping coffee, Tommy gently
asked:
"What was it you were going to say on-the
links? Something about a funny story--apropos
toBIetchley."
"What was it now? Hullo, did you see that?
Light being shown out at sea. Where's my telescope!"

%1 Tommy sighed. The stars in their courses
seemed to be fighting against him. The Commander
fussed into the house and out again, swept
the horizon with his glass, outlined a whole system
of signalling by the enemy to likely spots on shore,
most of the evidence for which seemed to be nonexistent,
and proceeded to give a gloomy picture
of a successful invasion in the near future.
"No organization, no proper coordination.
You're a L.D.V. yourself, Meadowes--you know
what it's like. With a man like old Andrews in
charge--"
H152 ^ Agatha Christie ^
jr&a^; - .~,S'..
This was well-worn ground. It was Commander
Haydock's pet grie'vance. He ought to be the man
in command and hie was quite determined to oust
Col. Andrews if it could possibly be done.
The manservant brought out whisky and liqueurs
while the Commamder was still holding forth. &
"--and we're sttill honeycombed with spies-- ^g riddled with 'em. lit was the same in the last war-- g
1| hairdressers, waiters--"
MSI Tommy, leaning; back, catching the profile of
Appledore as the latter hovered deft-footed, ' thought--"Waiters? You could call that fellow |
Fritz easier than Appledore...." |
Well, why not? The fellow spoke perfect En-| ;i glish, true, but then many Germans did. They had |
perfected their Emglish by years in English resi
taurants. And the racial type was not unlike. } Fair-haired, blue-<eyed--often betrayed by the ; shape of the head--yes, the head--where had he
seen a head lately?
He spoke on an impulse. The words fitted in ap- g, propriately enough with what the Commander | ? was just saying. :$ |
;^ "All these damned forms to fill in. No good at| y y all, Meadowes. Series of idiotic questions--" § ^l'^'' "was Tommy said: | ^ ^B "I know. Such as--'What is your name??
;^^aB Answer Nor M.''*
1.;; There was a swerve--a crash. Appledore, the|
perfect servant, had blundered. A stream of creme |
de menthe soaked over Tommy's cuff and hand. sin ^e man stammered, "Sorry, sir."
H Haydock blazed out in fury.
"You damned clumsy fool! What the Hell do
p. you think you're doing?" '? ^ST"" """
I; & NORM? 153
His usually red face was quite purple with
anger. Tommy thought: "Talk of an Army temper
--Navy beats it hollow!" Haydock continued with
a stream of abuse. Appledore was abject in
apologies.
Tommy felt uncomfortable for the man, but
suddenly, as though by magic, the Commander's
wrath passed and he was his hearty self again.
"Come along and have a wash. Beastly stuff. It
would be the creme de menthe." ^
i Tommy followed him indoors and was soon in
the sumptuous bathroom with the innumerable
gadgets. He carefully washed off the sticky sweet
stuff. The Commander talked from the bedroom
next door. He sounded a little shamefaced.
m
"Afraid I let myself go a bit. Poor old Appledore--he
knows I let go a bit more than I mean
always."
Tommy turned from the washbasin drying'his
hands. He did not notice that a cake of soap had
slipped onto the floor. His foot stepped on it. The
linoleum was highly polished, ^g
A moment later Tommy was doing a wild ballet
dancer step. He shot across the bathroom, arms
outstretched. One came up heavily against the
right hand tap of the bath, the other pushed heavily
against the side of a small bathroom cabinet. It
was an extravagant gesture never likely to be
achieved except by some catastrophe such as had
just occurred.
His foot skidded heavily against the end panel
of the bath.
The thing happened like a conjuring trick. The
bath slid out from the wall, turning on a concealed
pivot. Tommy found himself looking into a dim
154 ' Agatha Christie ^
recess. He had no doubt whatever as to what occu- & pied that recess. It contained a transmitting
wireless apparatus.
The Commander's voice had ceased. He appeared
suddenly in the doorway. And with a click,
several things fell into place in Tommy's brain.
Had he been blind up to now? That jovial florid gg
face--the face of a "hearty Englishman"--was "i!> only a mask. Why had he not seen it all along for « what it was--the face of a bad-tempered, over1
bearing Prussian officer. Tommy was helped, no |g|
doubt, by the incident that had just happened. For
it recalled to him another incident, a Prussian ||p
bully turning on a subordinate and rating him with ^ the Junker's true insolence. So had Commander * Haydock turned on his subordinate that^venuig
when the latter had been taken unawares. ||'
And it all fitted in--it fitted in like magic. The ||
double bluff. The enemy agent Hahn, sent first,
preparing the place, employing foreign workmen, g^ drawing attention to himself and proceeding fi- a nally to the next stage in the plan, his own unmasking
by the gallant British sailor Commander |||
Haydock. And then how natural that the English- fr man should buy the place and tell the story to R
everyone, boring them by constant repetition.
And so M, securely settled in his appointed place y., with sea communications and his secret wireless ||and
his staff officers at Sans Souci close at hand, ||
N is ready to carry out Germany's plan. ^ |||
Tommy was unable to resist a flash of genuine |||
admiration. The whole thing had been so perfectly
planned. He himself had never suspected Haydock
--he had accepted Haydock as the genuine article
--only a completely unforeseen accident had given ::;
the show away. , |^ '
^ NORM? 155
All this passed through Tommy's mind in a few
seconds. He knew, only too well, that he was, that
he must necessarily be in deadly peril. If only he
could act the part of the credulous thickheaded
Englishman well enough.
He turned to Haydock with what he hoped was
a natural sounding laugh. '?
"By Jove, one never stops getting surprises at
your place. Was this another of Hahn's little gadgets?
You didn't show me this the other day."
Haydock was standing very still. There was a
tensity about his big body as it stood there blocking
the door. :i^. yS^: .
"More than a match for me," tommy thought.
"And there's that confounded servant, too."
For an instant Haydock stood as though
moulded in stone, then he relaxed. He said with a
laugh:
"Damned funny, Meadowes. You went skating
over the floor like a ballet dancer! Don't suppose
a thing like that would happen once in a thousand
times. Dry your hands and come along into the
other room."
I; Tommy followed him out of the bathroom. He
was alert and tense in every muscle. Somehow or
other he must get safely away from this house with
his knowledge. Could he succeed in fooling Haydock?
The latter's tone sounded natural enough.
With an arm round Tommy's shoulders, a
casual arm, perhaps (or perhaps not), Haydock
shepherded him into the sitting room. Turning, he
shut the door behind them.
"Look here, old boy, I've got something to say
to you."
His voice was friendly, natural--just a shade
embarrassed. He motioned to Tommy to sit down.
156 Agatha Christie ;a ; ?
"It's a bit awkward," he said. "Upon my word,
it's a bit awkward! Nothing for it, though, but to
take you into my confidence. Only you'll have to ^ |
keep dark about it, Meadowes. You understand ? that?" ,
Tommy endeavoured to throw an expression of H; ||
eager interest upon his face. |je|| ® |
Haydock sat down and drew his chair confiden^^K;
tially close.
"You see, Meadowes, it's like this. Nobody's ^^ supposed to know it but I'm working on Intel- ISl;lt ligence. M.I.42 B.X.-- that's my department. Ever
heard of it?"
Tommy shook his head and intensified the eager |;
, expression.
"Well, it's pretty secret. Kind of inner ring, if
you know what I mean. We transmit certain information
from here--but it would be absolutely fatal if that fact got out, you understand?"
"Of course, of course," said Mr. Meadowes. ^|'
"Most interesting! Naturally you can count on me |§|
not to say a word.''
"Yes, that's absolutely vital. The whole thing is
extremely confidential.'' "I
quite understand. Your work must be most igg^ thrilling. Really most thrilling. I should like so ^'^ , much to know more about it--but I suppose I I?
^mustn't ask that?" ,,|
|||J "No, I'm afraid not. It's very secret, you see." J|;
III "Oh, yes, I see. I really do apologize--a most |
I extraordinary accident--" k^k^is H^ m He thought to himself: .toa.^.'&N sifc- ^
B "Surely he can't be taken in? He can't imagine ? | I'd fall for this stuff?"
| It seemed incredible to him. Then he reflected ^ that vanity had been the undoing of many men.
1:* NORM? was ^ ^gl^
Commander Haydock was a clever man, a big fel|;
low--this miserable chap Meadowes was a stupid ? Britisher--the sort of man who would believe anything!
If only Haydock continued to think that.
Tommy went on talking. He displayed keen ^ 11? interest and curiosity. He knew he mustn't ask
questions but--he supposed Commander Hay- ^;'
dock's work must be very dangerous? Had he ever
been in Germany, working there?
Haydock replied genially enough. He was in- rf tensely the British sailor now--the Prussian officer
had disappeared. But Tommy, watching him ,;;'S
with a new vision, wondered how he could ever
|- have been deceived. The shape of the head--the "" line of the jaw--nothing British about them. g
Presently Mr. Meadowes rose. It was the su- ? : preme test. Would it go off all right?
i "I really must be going now--getting quite-late
B--feel terribly apologetic, but can assure you will
not say a word to anybody."
("It's now or never. Will he let me go or not? I
must be ready--a straight to his jaw would be ^ best--")
|g Talking amiably and with pleasurable excite- ^ I: ment, Mr. Meadowes edged towards the door. ^j^^ v" He was in the hall ... he had opened the front '"yft
K door '
B Through a door on the right he caught a glimpse a-g
of Appledore setting the breakfast things ready on
I a tray for the morning. ("The damned fool was
going to let him get away with it!") ^^ ;, The two men stood in the porch, chatting-- fix- ''SU !v- ing up another match for next Saturday. @aB
Tommy thought grimly: "There'll be no next , Saturday for you, my boy."
Voices came from the road outside. Two men
158 Agathv Christie
returning from a tramp on the headland. They
were men that both Tommy and the Commander
knew slightly. Tommy hailed them. They stopped.
Haydock and he exchanged a few words with
them, all standing at the gate, then Tommy waved
a genial farewell to his host and stepped off with
the two men. ^' ' ;
He had got away with it. .'. '"s;^,*^ ajSsHaydock,
damned fool, had been taken in!
He heard Haydock go back to his house, go in
and shut the door. Tommy tramped cheerfully
down the hill with his two new-found friends.
Weather looked likely to change.
| Old Monroe was off his game again. !& That fellow Ashby refused to join the L.D.V.jp
Said it was no damned good. Pretty thick, that. 'l Young Marsh, the assistant caddy master, was a
conscientious objector. Didn't Meadowes think
that matter ought to be put up to the committee?
There had been a pretty bad raid on Southampton,
the night before last--quite a lot of damage
done. What did Meadowes think about Spain?
Were they turning nasty? Of course, ever since the
French collapse--
Tommy could have shouted aloud. Such good
casual normal talk. A stroke of providence that K
these two men had turned up just at that moment.
He said goodbye to them at the gate of Sans
Souci and turned in.
He walked the drive whistling softly to himself.
He had just turned the dark corner by the rho- (|
dodendrons when something heavy descended on i&
his head. He crashed forward, pitching into blackness
and oblivion.
Did you say three spades, Mrs. Blenkensop?"
Yes, Mrs. Blenkensop had said three spades.
Mrs. Sprot, returning breathless from the telephone,
saying: "And they've changed the time of
the A.R.P. exam. again, it's too bad," demanded
to have the bidding again.
Miss Minton, as usual, delayed things by ceaseless
reiterations.
"Was it two clubs I said? Are you sure? I rather
thought, you know, that it might have been one no
trump-- Oh, yes, of course, I remember now.
Mrs. Cayley said one heart, didn't she? I was
going to say one no trump, although I hadn't quite
got the count, but I do think one should play a
plucky game--and then Mrs. Cayley said one
heart and so I had to go two clubs. I always think
it's so difficult when one has two short suits--"
Sometimes, Tuppence thought to herself, it
would save time if Miss Minton just put her hand
down on the table to show them all. She was quite
incapable of not telling exactly what was in it. f(^.
"So now we've got it right," said Miss Minton
triumphantly. "One heart, two clubs."
"Two spades," said Tuppence.
"I passed, didn't I?" said Mrs. Sprot.
|^ They looked at Mrs. Cayley, who was leaning
~|" forward listening. € .^l^l^i :f;
^ 159 -^Stt^
160 Agatha Christie
Miss Minton took up the tale. ;^
"Then Mrs. Cayley said two hearts and I said
three diamonds."
' 'And I said three spades,'' said Tuppence. |
"Pass," said Mrs. Sprot. s
Mrs. Cayley sat in silence. At last she seemed to
become aware that everyone was looking at her.
"Oh, dear." She flushed. "I'm so sorry. %;
thought perhaps Mr. Cayley needed me. I hope
he's all right out there on the terrace."
She looked from one to the other of them. ^ "Perhaps, if you don't mind, I'd better just go
and see. I heard rather an odd noise. Perhaps he's|l
dropped his book." |g^
She fluttered out of the window. Tuppence gavel- an exasperated sigh.
"She ought to have a string tied to her wrist,"
she said. "Then he could pull it when he wanted
* :-- -.,--°.--<i .' IK'?'^;.;^".-
her." ;,,, ... ^^ ifclr
"Such a devoted wife," said Miss Minton. "It's
very nice to see it, isn't it?"
"Is it?" said Tuppence, who was feeling far
from good-tempered.
The three women sat in silence for a minute or
two. -1.... ||
"Where's Sheila tonight?" asked Miss Minton.
, "She went to the pictures," said Mrs. Sprot. a "Where's Mrs. Perenna?" asked Tuppence.
"She said she was going to do accounts in her
room," said Miss Minton. "Poor dear. So tiring,
doing accounts."
"She's not been doing accounts all the evening,"
said Mrs. Sprot, "because she came in just
now when I was telephoning in the hall."
"I wonder where she'd been," said Miss Minton,
whose life was taken up with such small wonN OR M? 161 VSs,^
^1^
derments. "Not to the pictures, they wouldn't be
out yet."
"She hadn't got a hat on," said Mrs. Sprot. ^,, H| "Nor a coat. Her hair was all anyhow and I think 8§|
she'd been running or something. Quite out of breath. She ran upstairs without a word and she
glared--positively glared at me--and I'm sure / syg hadn't done anything.'' ; ^ :
Mrs. Cayley reappeared at the window. Ifef S
|i "Fancy," she said. "Mr. Cayley has walked all
round the garden by himself. He quite enjoyed it,
he said. Such a mild night."^^^! ™, She sat down again. ^&s'^E&»i
? "Let me see-- Oh, do you think we could have ;,
the bidding over again?''
Tuppence suppressed a rebellious sigh. They
|_ ".1 had the bidding all over again and she was left to a"" * play three spades.
pg Mrs. Perenna came in just as they were cutting
Vy' for the next deal.
, -; "Did you enjoy your walk?" asked Miss Min-
m m bt"
Mrs. Perenna stared at her. It was a fierce and
unpleasant stare. She said: ^^S?^ ^ "I've not been out." "-aiS;- " if "Oh--oh--I thought Mrs. Sprot said you'd
come in just now."
F Mrs. Perenna said: pH
ll "I just went outside to look at the weather?'
Her tone was disagreeable. She threw a hostile
glance at the meek Mrs. Sprot, who flushed and
looked frightened.
tj "Just fancy," said Mrs. Cayley, contributing
her item of news, "Mr. Cayley walked all round
the garden." :''^':wx'S;'. w Mrs. Perenna said sharply: a ^^^Sitl "^l.f"'
162 Agatha Christie ,,
^,^"' '':
- "Why did he do that?" ^ ?%f|gt
Mrs. Cayley said: " 'r"
"It is such a mild night. He hasn't even put on
his second muffler and he still doesn't want to
come in. I do hope he won't get a chill." "to;
Mrs. Perenna said:
"There are worse things than chills. A bomb
might come any minute and blow us all to bits!"
"Oh, dear. I hope it won't." v,,wy '^- "Do you? / rather wish it would." {:
Mrs. Perenna went out of the window. The four
bridge players stared after her.
"She seems very odd tonight," said Mrs. Sprot.
Miss Minton leaned forward.
"You don't think, do you--" She looked from
side to side. They all leaned nearer together. Miss
Minton said in a sibilant whisper:
"You don't suspect, do you, that she drinks?"
"Oh, dear." said Mrs. Cayley, "I wonder now.
That would explain it. She really is so--so unaccountable
sometimes. What do you think, Mrs.
Blenkensop?" !^
"Oh, I don't really think so. I think she's worried
about something. Er--it's your call, Mrs.
Sprot."
"Dear me, what shall I say?" asked Mrs. Sprot,
surveying her hand.
| Nobody volunteered to tell her, though Miss
Minton, who had been gazing with unabashed interest
into her hand might have been in a position
to advise.
"That isn't Betty, is it?" demanded Mrs. Sprot,
her head upraised. ^ "No, it isn't," said Tuppence firmly. |||
She felt that she might scream unless they could
get on with the game.
;^ N OR M? 163
Mrs. Sprot looked at her hand vaguely, her
mind still apparently maternal. Then she said:
"Oh, one diamond, I think." ,»,,"'»(
The call went round. Mrs. Cayley led.
"When in doubt lead a trump, they say," she|||
twittered, and laid down the nine of diamonds.
A deep genial voice said: » ?, " 'Tis the curse of Scotland that you've played .Sill
there!" ||
H Mrs. O'Rourke stood in the window. She was |j§3
breathing deeply--her eyes were sparkling. She
looked sly and malicious. She advanced into the ^ room. '''
Just a nice quiet game of bridge, is it?'' y -
g "What's that in your hand?" asked Mrs. Sprot,
with interest. |||
" 'Tis a hammer," said Mrs. O'Rourke amiably.
"I found it lying in the drive. No doubt
someone left it there."
"It's a funny place to leave a hammer," said
Mrs. Sprot doubtfully. ^,, j
II "It is that. "agreed Mrs. O'Rourke.
She seemed in a particularly good humour.
Swinging the hammer by its handle she went out
into the hall.
"Let me see," said Miss Minton. "What's
trumps?" Hi,.,,,
The game proceeded for five minutes without ||K further interruption, and then Major Bletchley
came in. He had been to the pictures and proceeded
to tell them in detail the plot of Wandering
Minstrel, laid in the reign of Richard the First.
The Major, as a military man, criticized at some
length the Crusading battle scenes. ^feiiS;^
The rubber was not finished, for Mrs. Cayley,
looking at her watch, discovered the lateness of ;$
164 ' Agatha <
the hour with shrill lit
rushed out to Mr. Cayl
glected invalid, enjoyin;
coughing in a sepulchra
matically and saying seve
"Quite all right, my d
your game. It doesn't ma
if I have caught a severe
matter? There's a war on
At breakfast the next
aware at once of a certi
"•'; sphere. ||®4^ ^ •
Mrs. Perenna, her lip
gether, was distinctly acr
made. She left the room
described as a flounce.
Major Bletchley, sprei
on his toast, gave vent to
"Touch of frost in
"Well, well! Only to bee:
"Why, what has hap
Minton, leaning forwar
twitching with pleasurabi
„„ "Don't know that I c
school," replied the Majc
ga "Oh! Major Bletchley!
* "Do tell us," said Tup]
Major Bletchley lool
audience: Miss Minton,
Cayley and Mrs. O'Rour
i||| had just left. He decided i
f ^ N OR M? 165
"It's Meadowes," he said. "Been out on the
tiles all night. Hasn't come home yet."
" What?" exclaimed TuppenceMajor
Bletchley threw her a pleased and malicious
glance. He enjoyed the discomfiture of the
designing widow. +% '
"Bit of a gay dog, Meadowes," he chortled.
"The Perenna's annoyed. Naturally."
"Oh, dear," said Miss Minton, flushing painfully.
Mrs. Cayley looked shocked. Mrs. 0'Rourke
merely chuckled.
"Mrs. Perenna told me already," she said.
"Ah, well, the boys will be boys." 1;,%
Miss Minton said eagerly:
"Oh, but surely--perhaps Mr. Meadowes has
met with an accident. In the blackout, you
know." '^
"Good old blackout," said Major Bletchley.
"Responsible for a lot. I can tell you, it's been an
eye-opener being on patrol in the L.D.V. Stopping
cars and all that. The amount of wives just 'seeing
their husbands home.' And different names on
their identity cards! And the wife or the husband
coming back the other way alone a few hours
later. Ha ha!" He chuckled, then quickly composed
his face as he received the full blast of Mrs.
Blenkensop's disapproving stare.
"Human nature--a bit humorous, eh?" he said
appeasingly. .::^
"Oh, but Mr. Meadowes," bleated Miss Minton.
"He may really have met with an accident.
Been knocked down by a car."
"That'll be his story, I expect," said the Major.
"Car hit him andJcnocked him out and he came to
in the morning."
166 Agatha Christie
'<<" ^ , 'a:'&- "He may have been taken to hospital. "^
"They'd have let us know. After all, he's carrying
his identity card, isn't he? " ^
"Oh, dear," said Mrs. Cayley. "I wonder what
Mr.Cayleywillsay?" |
This rhetorical question remained unanswered. I
Tuppence, rising with an assumption of affronted $|
dignity, got up and left the room. |& IS Major Bletchley chuckled when the door closed
'behind her. SiS li
"Poor old Meadowes," he said. "The fair wi- |"
dow's annoyed about it. Thought she'd got her hooks
into him." ,
"Oh, Major Bletchley," bleated Miss Mmton. ^
Major Bletchley winked. . '§|||®s:1' I |
"Remember Sam in Dickens .'Bewardof wd- g ders. Sammy." BBI .1
_ ..."J'-'r-J.1 r , . , rr, SiiSB . litBlOi
Tuppence was a little upset by Tommy s unannounced
absence, but she tried to reassure herself.
He might possibly have struck some hot trail and "
gone off upon it. The difficulties of communication
with each other under such circumstances had
been foreseen by them both, and they had agreed
that the other one was not to be unduly perturbed gy; , by unexplained absences. They had arranged cer- |j|tain contrivances between them for such emergen- S ^ cies.
||| Mrs. Perenna had, according to Mrs. Sprot, ||,
^been out last night. The vehemence of her own ;
denial of the fact only made that absence of hers
more interesting to speculate upon.
, . It was possible that Tommy had trailed her on
N OR M? 167
her secret errand and had found something worth
following up.
Doubtless he would communicate with Tuppence
in his special way, or else turn up, very
shortly.
Nevertheless, Tuppence was unable to avoid a
certain feeling of uneasiness. She decided that in
her role of Mrs. Blenkensop it would be perfectly
natural to display some curiosity and even anxiety.
She went without more, ado in search of Mrs.
Perenna. ^SJM
Mrs. Perenna was inclined to be short with her
upon the subject. She made it clear that such conduct
on the part of one of her lodgers was not to
be condoned or glossed over.
Tuppence exclaimed breathlessly:
"Oh, but he may have met with an accident. I'm sure he must have done. He's not at all that
sort of man--not at all loose in his ideas, or anything
of that kind. He must have been run down
by a car or something."
"We shall probably soon hear one way or
another," said Mrs. Perenna.
But the day wore on and there was no sign of
Mr. Meadowes.
In the evening, Mrs. Perenna, urged on by the
pleas of her boarders, agreed extremely reluctantly
to ring up the police.
A sergeant called at the house with a notebook
and took particulars. Certain facts were then
elicited. Mr. Meadowes had left Commander Haydock's
house at half past ten. From there he had
walked with a Mr. Walters and a Dr. Curtis as far | as the gate of Sans Souci, where he had said^ | goodbye to them and turned into the drive. ';f
From that moment, Mr. Meadowes seemed to
^a|l68 ' Agatha Christie &^
have disappeared into space. 11^ Hg In Tuppence's mind, two possibilities emerged
- itlgfrom this.
i^ When walking up the drive. Tommy may have
seen Mrs. Perenna coming towards him, have -- ^slipped into the bushes and then have followed
B| her. Having observed her rendezvous with some
" i^junknown person, he might then have followed the
fflatter, whilst Mrs. Perenna returned to Sans ^
"^Souci. In that case, he was probably very much s alive, and busy on a trail. In which case the well-
K meant endeavours of the police to find him might
,,,,„, prove most embarrassing. :-'^ ||,-;
BThe other possibility was not so pleasant. If resolved itself into two pictures--one that of Mrs.i^ Perenna returning "out of breath and dishev^^;
elled"--the other, one that would not be laidl^li
aside, a picture of Mrs. O'Rourke standing smilt^Igg
ing in the window, holding a heavy hammer.
That hammer had horrible possibilities. ,- T
For what should a hammer be doing lying outside?
ITy
As to who had wielded it, that was most dif-!%6 p
ficult. A good deal depended on the exact time j^ Mrs. Perenna had re-entered the house. It was certainly
somewhere in the neighbourhood of halfglp past ten, but none of the bridge party happened to a have noted the time exactly. Mrs. Perenna had ,,,
J declared vehemently that she had not been out ex- II
cept just to look at the weather. But one does not
| get out of breath just looking at the weather. It
s was clearly extremely vexing to her to have been ip
-S seen by Mrs. Sprot. With ordinary luck the four &s It i^: ladies might have been safely accounted for as^ j busy playing bridge. '^[', I What had the time been exactly? Sf
^.NORM? 169
'*¥,
Tuppence found everybody extremely vague on
the subject.
If the time agreed, Mrs. Perenna was clearly the roost likely suspect. But there were other possibil^ies.
Of the inhabitants of Sans Souci, three had
been out at the time of Tommy's return. Major
Bletchley had been out at the cinema--but he had been to it alone, and the way that he had insisted
°n retailing the whole picture so meticulously
might suggest to a suspicious mind that he was
deliberately establishing an alibi. ^ :^||||
Then there was the valetudinarian Mr. Cayley
who had gone for a walk all round the garden. But
t°r the accident of Mrs. Cayley's anxiety over her
spouse, no one might have ever heard of that walk Md might have imagined Mr. Cayley to have refined
securely encased in rugs like a mummy in
his chair on the terrace. (Rather unlike him, really, §|| to risk the contamination of the night air so long.) a
And there was Mrs. O'Rourke herself, swinging fhe hammer, and smiling ... ,.,
IT' , Iv ^
"What's the matter. Deb? You're looking worried,
my sweet."
Deborah Beresford started and then laughed,
looking frankly into Tony Marsdon's sympathetic
broivn eyes. She liked Tony. He had brains--was ""e of the most brilliant beginners in the coding department--and was thought likely to go far.
Deborah enjoyed her job, though she found it
made somewhat strenuous demands on her powers
°f concentration. It was tiring, but it was worth ^ile and it gave her a pleasant feeling of impor-
170 ^tha christie 11
tance. This was real worl,_^ ^ hanging about ^ a hospital waitmg for a c^nce to nurse. ., ,,,
She said: m ;^'*1% "Oh, nothirig^ust/a^., you know." T "Families are a bit try^g ^at's yours been up
"It's my mother. To t^ ^ ^uth I'm just a bit
worried about her."
g| "Why? What's happei^9" (g . ISI ff.
"Well, you see, she we^ ^own toCornwall to a . frightfully trying old aui^ ^ n^e. Seventy-eight K and completely ga ga." |$
1 "Sounds grim." corn^^d ^e young man| ,
sympathetically. ^S y il
"Yes. it was really we; ^le of mother. ButBf
she was rather hipped ^y^y because nobody C?
seemed to want her in i^g war. Of course,
nursed and did things in, ^e last one-but it's all ||
quite different now, an^ ^ don't want
middle-aged people. Th. ^^nt people who are
young and on the spot. ^ ^ j ^ pother got 8ii a bit hipped over it all, a^ ^ ^e went off down '
to Cornwall to stay witt^ ^unt Gracie, and she's , been doing a bit in the, ^en, extra vegetable^ ? growing and all that."
^Quite sound" comm^^ Tony. IK
"Yes, much the best t^ng she could do. She's
quite active still, you ^^» said Deborah
kindly. „ ^
"Well, that sounds all i -^ „ 'SS
"Oh, yes, it isn't that. ^ ^ q^ happy about . her-had a letter only ^ ^ays ago sounding
quite cheerful. ; ,
"What's the trouble, tlu ,»
"The trouble is that ^ ^ charles. who was
NORM? 171
going down to see his people in that part of the
world, to go and look her up. And he did. And she
wasn't there." :;wv
"Wasn't there?" ^ "
"No. And she hadn't been there! Not at all apparently!"
^
Tony looked a little embarrassed.
"Rather odd," he murmured. "Where's--I
mean--your father?"
"Carrot Top? Oh, he's in Scotland somewhere.
In one of those dreadful Ministries where they file
papers in triplicate all day long.'' ^' "&
"Your mother hasn't gone to join him perhaps?"

"She can't. He's in one of those area things
where wives can't go." «
"Oh--er--well, I suppose she's just sloped off I
somewhere." ^K "'^
Tony was decidedly embarrassed now--especially
with Deborah's large worried eyes fixed
plaintively upon him.
"Yes, but why? It's so queer. All her letters
--talking about Aunt Gracie and the garden and
everything."
"I know, I know," said Tony hastily. "Of
course, she'd want you to think--I mean--nowadays--well,
people do slope off now and again, if
you know what I mean--"
Deborah's gaze, from being plaintive, became
suddenly wrathful. ?J
"If you think mother's just gone off weekending
with someone you're absolutely wrong.
Absolutely. Mother and father are devoted to each
other--really devoted. It's quite a joke in the
family. She'd never--"
y'S 172 HHAgafhft Christie >.,,,,, ^.
Tony said hastily:"'
"Of course not. Sorry. I really didn't mean--"
Deborah, her wrath appeased, creased her fore^.
head. S^.
"The odd thing is that someone the other day
said they'd seen mother in Leahampton, of alK;^ y^i.. places, and of course I said it couldn't be her be-^igj
cause she was in Cornwall, but now I wonder--" Kte ;
Tony, his match held to a cigarette, paused sud^ denly and the match went out.
,^,;Mi "Leahampton? "he said sharply. ^^ ca "Yes. Just the last place you could imagine! mother going off to. Nothing to do and all old
Colonels and maiden ladies." ' %;:.;: "Doesn't sound a likely spot, certainly," saidfe,,,.
ywSff He lit his cigarette and asked casually: B k^
"What did your mother do in the last war?"
„. „ Deborah answered mechanically: sBy^
8% "Oh, nursed a bit and drove a General--army, I ;^ K i:i mean, not a bus. All the usual sort of things." fe^ '}
"Oh, I thought perhaps she'd been like you--in
the Intelligence.'' ^
"Oh, mother would never have had the head for ^ this sort of work. I believe, though, that after the b|
war she and father did do something in the sleuth- y,;;m ing line. Secret papers and master spies--that sort '?„ of thing. Of course, the darlings exaggerate it all a ssss good deal and make it all sound as though it had KH been frightfully important. We don't really en- t^X ., courage them to talk about it much because you 'h"'": know what one's family is--the same old story .yyM over and over again.''
"Oh, rather," said Tony Marsdon heartily. "I
in quite agree." SB It was on the following day that Deborah, reNORM? 173
turning to her lodging house, was puzzled by
something unfamiliar in the appearance of her
room.
It took her a few minutes to fathom what it was.
Then she rang the bell and demanded angrily of
her landlady what had happened to the big photograph
that always stood on the top of the chest of
drawers. . ,
|S$^ Mrs. Rowley was aggrieved and resentful, y.:. i|| She couldn't say, she was sure. She hadn't
touched it herself. Maybe Gladys--
But Gladys also denied having removed it. The
man had been there about the gas, she said hopefully.

||But Deborah declined to believe that an employee
of the Gas Company would have taken a
fancy to and removed the portrait of a middleaged
lady.
Far more likely, in Deborah's opinion, that
Gladys had smashed the photograph frame and
had hastily removed all traces of the crime to the
dustbin. |§| ||| g
Deborah didn't make a fuss about it. Sometime
or other she'd get her mother to send her another
photo, y^,
She thought to herself with rising vexation: ^|ST
^"What's the old darling up to? She might tell The . Of course, it's absolute nonsense to suggest,
as Tony did, that she's gone off with someone, but
all the same it's very queer ..." ..^.a-^,
v^i^w^
^rX«^-	'99^^
It was Tuppence's turn to talk to the fishermaft on
the end of the pier.
She had hoped against hope that Mr. Grant
might have some comfort for her. But her hopes
were soon dashed. H^
He stated definitely that no hews of any kind
had come from Tommy.
Tuppence said, trying her best to make her voice
assured and businesslike:
"There's no reason to suppose that anything
has--happened to him?" Hip
"None whatever. But let's suppose it has." "Sy
"What?" ""
"I'm saying--supppsjng it has. What about
you?" ?
"Oh, I see--I--carry on, of course." *
"That's the stuff. There is time to weep after
the battle. We're in the thick of the battle now.
And time is short. One piece of information you
brought us has been proved correct. You overhead
a reference to the/ourt/i. The fourth referred to is
the fourth of next month. It's the date fixed for
the big attack on this country." ; '
"You're sure?"
"Fairly sure. They're methodical people, our
enemies. All their plans neatly made and worked
out. Wish we could say the same of ourselves.
Planning isn't our strong point. Yes, the Fourth is
Ki ^ NORM? ' . 175
The Day. All these raids aren't the real thing--
they're mostly reconnaissance--testing our defences
and our reflexes to air attack. On the fourth
comes the real thing."
E "But if you know that--" :
"We know The Day is fixed. We know, or think
we know, roughly, where . . . (But we may be
wrong there.) We're as ready as we can be. But it's
the old story of the siege of Troy. They knew, as
we know, all about the forces without. It's the
forces within we want to know about. The men in
the Wooden Horse! For they are the men who can
deliver up the keys of the fortress. A dozen men in
high places, in command in vital spots, by issuing
conflicting orders, can throw the country into just
that state of confusion necessary for the German
plan to succeed. We've got to have inside informationintime."
. ^ii'' .SJS^ '^Tuppence
said despairingly: ' '''t''M!~f'vs'^ '"''"'
y^f"1 feel so futile--so inexperienced." A^ lBK"Oh, you needn't worry about that. We've got
' experienced people working, all the experience
and talent we've got--but when there's treachery
within we can't tell who to trust. You and Beresford
are the irregular forces. Nobody knows about
you. That's why you've got a chance to succeed--
that's why you have succeeded up to a certain
point." m II
| "Can't you put some of your people on to Mrs.
Perenna? There must be some of them you can
trust absolutely?"
"Oh, we've done that. Working from 'information
received that Mrs. Perenna is a member of the
I.R.A. with anti-British sympathies.' That's true
enough, by the way--but we can't get proof of
i anything further. Not of the vital facts we want.
'^W^: . ,
So stick t
darnedes
"The 1
week ahe
"It's a
- Tuppe
"We /
believe T
why he 1
lead.If I
now. If I
She frc
"Yous
"I see
don't lik
"I thu
"Yes,
tack—thi
H master wi
I "We'v
we've doi
seems to
out into t
"You
be sacrifil
"You'i
this afte
some exa;
Albert
to a mon
"I wa;
JIB pond life
said Tuppence.
"Where's Captain Beresford, that's what I'd
like to know?"
"So should I," said Tuppence, with a pang.
"Don't seem natural, his disappearing without
a word. He ought to have tipped you the wink by
now. That's why--" f;?®^'1^ "'''''''^S^
g, "Yes, Albert?" . ? "What I mean is, if he's come out in the open, ^^ perhaps you 'd better not.''
He paused to arrange his ideas and then went
on. ;':.^;
"I mean, they've blown the gaff on him, but '/^gs
they mayn 't know about you--and so it's up to k* you to keep under cover still."
"I wish I could make up my mind," sighed
Tuppence. J^ g8
"Which way^ere you thinking of managing it, gg|
Madam?" ^ ^ Tuppence murmured thoughtfully: ^ w § "I thought I might lose a letter I'd written
--make a lot of fuss about it, seem very upset.
Then it would be found in the hall and Beatrice
would probably put it on the hall table. Then the |||
right person would get a look at it." ; ->y ;.iy . "What would be in the letter?" ^''li& th? '¥:'
3 "Oh, roughly--that I'd been successful in
discovering the identity of the person in question
and that I was to make a full report personally s?H
tomorrow. Then, you see, Albert, N or M would
have to come out in the open and have a shot at
eliminating me." .; ^^
"Yes, and maybe they'd manage it, too." W.i
"Not if I was on my guard. They'd have, I
think, to decoy me away somewhere--some lonely
"I
1 .-'S
178 ^arto Christie i||
spot. That's where you'd come in--because they
don't know about you."
"I'd follow them up and catch them redhanded,
so to speak?" ips ^v^*^ .-' '
Tuppence nodded. aw ; .< - "That's the idea. I must think it out carefully--I'll
meet you tomorrow,"
:..,,' ;1..,.' ,
Tuppence was just emerging from the local
lending library with what had been recommended
to her as a "nice book" clasped under her arm
when she was startled by a voice saying:
"Mrs. Beresford." kill
She turned abruptly to see a tall, dark young
man with an agreeable but slightly embarrassed
smile, f^
He said: (|| A'!%^ §|| '^' "Er--I'm afraid you don't remember me?"
Tuppence was thoroughly used to the formula.
She could have predicted with accuracy the words
that were coming next.
"I--er--came to the flat with Deborah one
day." §||| ^
Deborah's friends! So many of them, and all, to
Tuppence, looking singularly alike! Some dark
like this young man, some fair, an occasional redhaired
one--but all cast in the same mould- pleasant, well-mannered, their hair, in Tuppence's
view, just slightly too long. (But when this was
hinted, Deborah would say, "Oh, mother, don't
be so terribly 1916.1 can't stand short hair.")
Annoying to have run across and been recognized
by one of Deborah's young men just now.
"-* - w
n or m? h|a| 179
However, she could probably soon shake him off.
"I'm Antony Marsdon," explained the young
man. r
|S Tuppence murmured mendaciously, "Oh, of
"course," and shook hands, ^ff^.'^.tjtiaj^^
Tony Marsdon went on: ; ' .>'-.,,. ttaM-
"I'm awfully glad to have found you, Mrs.
Beresford. You see, I'm working at the same job
as Deborah, and as a matter of fact something
rather awkward has happened.'' |||1 M
"Yes?" said Tuppence. "What is it?" I to
"Well, you see, Deborah's found out that
you're not down in Cornwall as she thought, and
that makes it a bit awkward, doesn't it, for you?"
"Oh, bother," said Tuppence, concerned.
"How did she find out?" -
Tony Marsdon explained. He went on rather
diffidently:
"Deborah, of course, has no idea of what
you're really doing."
He paused discreetly, and then went on:
"It's important, I imagine, that she shouldn't
know. My job, actually, is rather the same line.
I'm supposed to be just a beginner in the Coding
Department. Really my instructions are to express
views that are mildly Fascist--admiration of the
German system, insinuations that a working
alliance with Hitler wouldn't be a bad thing--all
that sort of thing--just to see what response I get.
There's a good deal of rot going on, you see, and
we want to find out who's at the bottom of it." ,»,,
^K'^
"Not everywhere," thought Tuppence, it ||S§"But as soon as Deb told me about you," continued
the young man, "I thought I'd better come
straight down and warn you so that you could
cook up a likely story. You see, I happen to know
180 Agatha Christie
what you are doing and that it's of vital importance.
It would be fatal if any hint of who you
. are got about. I thought perhaps you could make
it seem as though you'd joined Captain Beresford
in Scotland or wherever he is. You might say that
you'd been allowed to work with him there."
"I might do that, certainly," said Tuppence
thoughtfully. |te^ .lAa"*
^ Tony Marsdon said anxiously: *" ?? j ^ "You don't think I'm butting in?" ^sf'-^ v,:^-' "No, no, I'm very grateful to you." ^^ "
Tony said rather inconsequentially: aSS
"I'm--well--you see--I'm rather fond of
|p Deborah." " yS '--^ bn Tuppence flashed him an amused quick glance.
How far away it seemed, that world of attentive
young men and Deb with her rudeness to them
that never seemed to put them off. This young
man was, she thought, quite an attractive specimen.

She put aside what she called to herself "peace
time thoughts" and concentrated on the present
situation. ,„
After a moment or two she said slowly: uk "My husband isn't in Scotland." ; ^ "Isn't he?" ;
"No, he's down here with me. At least he was! ^Now--he's disappeared."
Illfi "I say, that's bad--or isn't it? Was he on to
something?" - Is^^Sh Tuppence nodded.
"I think so. That's why I don't think that his^ - disappearing like this is really a bad sign. I think,
sooner or later, he'll communicate with me--in his
own way.'' She smiled a little.
Tony said, with some slight embarrassment:
NORM? 181
"Of course, you know the game well, I expect.
But you ought to be careful.'' %w | Tuppence nodded, "i
E;. "I know what you mean. Beautiful heroines R in books are always easily decoyed away. But
Tommy and I have our methods. We've got a sloB
gan." She smiled. "Penny plain and tuppence
coloured." H^ ||:g ^Siiy^^ S^%' "What?" The young man stared at her as
R though she had gone mad.
"I ought to explain that my family nickname is
, Tuppence."
^<"0h, I see." The young man's brow cleared.
""Ingenious--what?" -.yy.y^ gfe "Ihopeso."
|| "I don't want to butt in--but couldn't I help in
Ste'" anyway?"
"Yes," said Tuppence thoughtfully, "I think
perhaps you might." ^^
7l><«<«	?»»xr.
-?v	"asw;.-:: ?'?; ^".
r> . ....	,, .«.';". :,i':i'"..,,	..-«.^; ..,.,„»., %.
After long aeons of unconsciousness, Tommy
began to be aware of a fiery ball swimming in ;
y^, space. In the centre of the fiery ball was a core of |
|| pain, the universe shrank, the fiery ball swung
|S ..^:- more slowly--he discovered suddenly that the III nucleus of it was his own aching head.
Slowly he became aware of other things--of
cold cramped limbs, of hunger, of an inability to
move his lips.
Slower and slower swung the fiery ball ... It Sit was now Thomas Beresford's head and it was rest-
{''s^v"'s~, i
ing on solid ground. Very solid ground. In fact on
something suspiciously like stone.
Bgg' Yes, he was lying on hard stones, and he was in
| pain, unable to move, extremely hungry, cold and
jitg uncomfortable.
i^ Surely, although Mrs. Perenna's beds had never
been unduly soft, this could not be--
Of course--Haydock! The wireless! The German
waiter! Turning in at the gates of Sans
Souci...
|Sg| Someone, creeping up behind him, had struck |
him down. That was the reason of his aching |
--| And he'd thought he'd got away with it all
right! So Haydock, after all, hadn't been quite
such a fool?
Haydock? Haydock had gone back into Smug..^v-'. : NORM? ;;^ ^L; 183
glers' Rest and closed the door. How had he
managed to get down the hill and be waiting for
Tommy in the grounds of Sans Souci?
It couldn't be done. Not without Tommy seeing
him.
The manservant, then? Had he been sent ahead
to lie in wait? But surely, as Tommy had crossed
the hall, he had seen Appledore in the kitchen of
which the door was slightly ajar. Or did he only
fancy he had seen him? Perhaps that was the explanation.

Anyway it didn't matter. The thing to do was to
find out where he was now. a.
His eyes, becoming accustomed to the darkness,
picked out a small rectangle of dim light. A window
or small grating. The air smelled chill and
musty. He was, he fancied, lying in a cellar. His
hands and feet were tied and a gag in his mouth
was secured by a bandage.
"Seems rather as though I'm for it," thought
Tommy.
He tried gingerly to move his limbs or body, but
he could not succeed.
At that moment, there was a faint creaking
sound and a door somewhere behind him was
pushed open. A man with a candle came in. He set
down the candle on the floor. Tommy recognized
Appledore. The latter disappeared again and then
returned carrying a tray on which were a jug of
water, a glass and some bread and cheese.
Stooping down he first tested the cords binding
the other's limbs. He then touched the gag.
He said in a quiet level voice:
"I am about to take this off. You will then be
able to eat and drink. If, however, you make the
slightest sound, I shall replace it immediately.''
184 Agatha Christie V^:
Tommy tried to nod his head, which proved impossible,
so he opened and shut his eyes several
times instead. ^
Appledore, taking this for consent, carefully
unknotted the bandage.
IIH His mouth freed. Tommy spent some few
iH| minutes easing his jaw. Appledore held the glass s
' of water to his lips. He swallowed at first with dif-.
ficulty, then more easily. The water did him a &: world of good. pi.^^^y?--;^^'^^-1®?^^'"'""
He murmured stiffly:
s^ * "That's better. I'm not quite so young as I was.
Now for the eats, Fritz--or is it Franz?
The man said quietly:
, ,;, "My name here is Appledore1."
NS3 He held the slice of bread and cheese up and
Tommy bit at it hungrily. ''
The meal washed down with some more water, ||.^ he then asked: %^| ^^.^Ijs ' §§1 II
"And what's the next part of the programme?" t vvySilil I501" answer, Appledore picked up the gag again. | ^Bl^ Tommy said quickly: p^ *"
"I want to see Commander Haydock." SSIS*
Appledore shook his head. Deftly he replaced ^ the gag and went out. v"^;' ^a H V
S"" Tommy was left to meditate in darkness. He |
was awakened from a confused sleep by the sound *
of the door reopening. This time Haydock and
|S|| Appledore came in together. The gag was removed
and the cords that held his arms were loosened so yHSSK ^st he could sit up and stretch his arms. 'BSBs Haydock had an automatic pistol with him. K:
Tommy, without much inward confidence, be- Sa
|gan to play his part. ;..,^^y..,,. ^ - gigm^'- E J'1' He said indignantly: i^^^"*'^ H.^ ^^te4??.^ "Look here, Haydock, what's the meaning of it
N OR M? 185
all this? I've been set upon--kidnapped--"
The Commander was gently shaking his head.
He said:
"Don't waste your breath. It's not worth it."
"Just because you're a member of our Secret
Service, you think you can--"
Again the other shook his head.
"No, no, Meadowes. You weren't taken in by
that story. No need to keep up the pretense."
But Tommy showed no signs of discomfiture.
He argued to himself that the other could not
really be sure. If he continued to play his part--
. "Who the devil do you think you are?" he demanded.
"However great your powers you've no
right to behave like this. I'm perfectly capable of
holding my tongue about any of our vital secrets!"
The other said coldly:
"You do your stuff very well, but I may tell you
that it's immaterial to me whether you're a member
of the British Intelligence, or merely a muddling
amateur--"
"Of all the damned cheek--" ^ , "Cut it out, Meadowes. "mb *»,
"I tell you--" ^ ";?:
Haydock thrust a ferocious face forwards.
"Be quiet, damn you. Earlier on it would have
mattered to find out who you were and who sent
you. Now it doesn't matter. The time's short, you
see. And you didn't have the chance to report to
anyone what you 'd found out."
"The police will be looking for me as soon as
I'm reported missing." ; e; ^-i; >^i^^ gEH Haydock showed his teeth in a sudden gleam.
K "I've had the police here this evening. Good
fellows--both friends of mine. They asked me all
about Mr. Meadowes. Very concerned about his
il86 "w: Agatha Christie
m
disappearance. How he seemed that'evening--
what he said. They never dreamed, how should
they, that the man they were talking about was
practically underneath their feet where they were |
sitting. It's quite clear, you see, that you left this ;
house well and alive. They'd never dream of look.
|J|| ing for you here." ^ y^
"You can't keep trite here forever," Tommy said ^ g|g vehemently.
Haydock said with .a, resumption of his most
British manner: It-; 'W
^-^a- i ! ^.f. ,^".^
"It won't be necessary, my dear fellow. Only
until tomorrow night. There's a boat due in at my
little cove--and we're thinking of sending you on
b| a voyage for your health--though actually I don't * think you'll be alive, or even on board, when they ^L-,. arrive at their destination."
"I wonder you didn't knock me'on^the head
straightaway."
"It's such hot weather, my dear fellow. Just
occasionally our sea communications are interrupted,
and if that were to be so--well, a dead
®8 body on the premises has a way of announcing its
presence." . ^.^tes
B "I see." said Tommy;-" B|.
He did see. The issue was perfectly clear. He His.
was to be kept alive until the boat arrived. Then he
would be killed--or drugged--and taken out to [
sea. Nothing would ever connect his body, when
found, with Smugglers' Rest.
Sj "I just came along," continued Haydock,
speaking in the most natural manner, "to ask
whether there is anything we could-- er--do for
you--afterwards?" ^^ §|-- Tommy reflected. Then he said:
"Thanks--but I won't ask you to take a lock of
T

NORM?
187


my hair to the little woman in St. John's Wood, or
anything of that kind. She'll nniss me when pay
day comes along--but I daresay she'll soon find a
friend elsewhere."
At all costs, he felt, he must create the impression
that he was playing a lone hand. So long as no
suspicion attached itself to Tuppence then the
game might still be won through, though he was
not there to play it.
"As you please," said Haydock. "If you did
care to send a message to--your friend--we would
. see that it was delivered." *S^ .^ ~a ;
I So he was, after all, anxious to get a little information
about this unknown Mr. Meadowes?
Very well, then. Tommy would keep him guessing.
He shook his head. '' Nothing doing,'' he said.
"Very well." With an appearance of the utmost
indifference Haydock nodded to Appledore. The
latter replaced the bonds and the gag. The two'
men went out, locking the door behind them. ^ Left to his reflections, Toiamy felt anything bu1 cheerful. Not only was he faced with the prospect
of rapidly approaching death but he had no means
of leaving any clue behind him as to the information
he had discovered.
His body was completely helpless. His brain felt
singularly inactive. Could he, he wondered, have
utilized Haydock's suggestion of a message? Pei'haps
if his brain had been working better . . . But
he could think of nothing helpful.
There was, of course, still Tuppence. But what
could Tuppence do? As Haydock had just pointed
out. Tommy's disappearance would not be connected
with him. Tommy had left Smugglers' Rest
alive and well. The evidence of two independent
i^? Spj '?'? ySO.
S-'.'- w9 ^ste ^tjpi 188 Agatha Christie
witnesses would confirm that. Whoever Tuppence
might suspect, it would not be Haydock. And she
might not suspect at all. She might think that he
was merely following up a trail.
Damn it all, if only he had been more on his guard--
There was a little light in the cellar. It came
through the grating which was high up in one corner.
If only he could get his mouth free, could
shout for help. Somebody might hear, though it
was very unlikely.
For the next half hour he busied himself straining
at the cords that bound him and trying to bite
through the gag. It was all in vain, however. The
people who had adjusted those things knew their
business.
It was, he judged, late afternoon. Haydock, he
fancied, had gone out; he had heard no sounds
from overhead.
^RConfound it all, he was probably playing golf, "speculating at the clubhouse over what could have
happened to Meadowes!
"Dined with me night before last--seemed quite
normal then. Just vanished into the blue." '-Tommy writhed with fury. That hearty English
manner! Was everyone blind not to see that bulletheaded
Prussian skull? He himself hadn't seen it.
Wonderful what a first class actor could get away
with.
So here he was--a failure--an ignominious
failure--trussed up like a chicken, with no one to
guess where he was. w'0.
If only Tuppence could have second sight! She
might suspect. She had, sometimes, an uncanny
insight... ^
What was that? H 1
'tii-S N OR M? .- 189 ?8|
^&^5
He strained his ears listening to a far-off sound.
Only some man humming a tune. aM:. ^M ;£;
And here he was, unable to make a sound to attract anyone's attention, gsj
The humming came nearer. A most untuneful "w noise.
But the tune, though mangled, was recognizable.
It dated from the last war--had been revived
for this one. ;,
' 'If you were the only girl in the world and I Was the only boy." m^ - ?
How often he had hummed that in 1917. ^fe«s
Dash this fellow. Why couldn't he sing in tune? H Suddenly Tommy's body grew taut and rigid. |y Those particular lapses were strangely familiar.
Surely there was only one person who always went wrong in that one particular place and in that one
particular way! .,
' 'Albert, by Gosh!'' thought Tommy. i|| |
Albert prowling round Smugglers' Rest. Albert
quite close at hand, and here was he, trussed up,
unable to move hand or foot, unable to make a| &ouna "f^sy-iy'i^^*^'?'^'''' '"y'' ' ?'''»'"' '''''
Wait a minute. Was he?
There was just one sound--not so easy with the
mouth shut as with the mouth open, but it could
be done. %t@
Desperately Tommy began to snore. He kept' *' his eyes closed, ready to feign a deep sleep ;f
Appledore^should come down, and he snored, he c®|
snored ..
Short snore, short snore, short snore- pause--long snore, long snore, long snore--pause
--short snore, short snore, short snore ...
BH W''' sbs r'"^ "":' I Bis»r- ! ...Jlll fe^
190	Agatha Christie
Albert, when Tuppence had left him, was
deeply perturbed. '
With the advance of years he had become a person
of slow mental processes, but those processes
were tenacious. ^
The state of affairs in general seemed to him
quite wrong. '-^^^fg~
The War was all wrong to begin with. » %^^»ss
"Those Germans," thought Albert gloomily
and almost without rancour. Heiling Hitler and
goose-stepping and over-running the world and
bombing and machine-gunning and generally
making pestilential nuisances of themselves. '
They'd got to be stopped, no two ways about it % --and so far it seemed as though nobody hadjbeen |
able to stop them. ^'^Isl |||S ^
And now here was Mrs. Beresford, a nice lady if
there ever was one, getting herself mixed up in
trouble and looking out for more trouble, and
how was he going to stop her? Didn't look as
though he could. Up against this Fifth Column
and a nasty lot they must be. Some of 'em English
born, too! A disgrace, that was!
And the master who was always the one to hold
the missus back from her impetuous ways--the
master was missing. ,..
Albert didn't like that at all. It looked to him as I
though "those Germans" might be at the bottom
of that. m
Yes, it looked bad, it did. Looked as though he** might have copped one. sps. | Albert was not given to the exercise of deep rea-K soning. Like most Englishmen, he felt something
strongly and proceeded to muddle around until he
% ^ NORM? ,^




















192 Agatha Christie
tune. Took him ^ long time to get hold of a tune, it
did. His lips shapod themselves into a tentative
whistle. Begun playing the old tunes again lately, y
they had. 'S' ''. ^
"If you were t^ only 8irl in the world and I was
the only boy--"
Albert paused to survey the neat white painted
gate of Smuggle"' ^est- That was it, that was
where the master had gone to dinner.
He went up the hill a little further and came out
on the downs. *%
Nothing here. Nothing but grass and a few 8
sheep.
The gate of Srpugglers' Rest swung open and a y
car passed out. A big man in P1115 fours with g0^ §
clubs drove out a"d down the hill. ^ ^t|| ' ^
"That would be Commander Haydock, that
would," Albert deduced.
He wandered down again and stared at Smugglers'
Rest. A tidy Uttle place. Nice bit of garden.
Njceview. ^ , :'^He eyed it benignly.^ Sf'1^
"/ would say sU^ wonderful things to you," he
hummed.
, Through a sid<2 door of the house a man came
out with a hoe apd passed out of sight through a little
gate.
Albert, who gi'^ nasturtiums and a bit of let- ;
tuce in his back garden, was instantly interested.
He edged near?!"to Smugglers' Rest and passed
through the open gate. Yes, tidy little place. „
He circled slo^Y round it. Some way below .!
I him, reached by steps, was a flat plateau planted
as a vegetable garden. The man who had come out
of the house was P"sy down there.
Albert watched him with interest for some min..^'^ggNORM? ''^ 1..- ip^ 193
utes. Then he turned to contemplate the house.
Tidy little place, he thought for the third tinte:""^ Just the sort of place a retired Naval gentleman g^a would like to have. This was where the master had US, dined that night.
Slowly Albert circled round and round the
house. He looked at it much as he had looked at
the gate of Sans Souci--hopefully, as though asking
it to tell him something.
And as he went he hummed softly to himself, a
twentieth century Blondel in search of his master.
"There would be such wonderful things to do,"
hummed Albert. "I would say such wonderful
things to you. There would be such wonderfulssm things to do--" Gone wrong somewhere, hadn't
he? He'd hummed that bit before. (I Hullo! Funny. So the Commander kept pigs, did he? A long drawn grunt came to him. Funny ^§
--seemed almost as though it were underground.
Funny place to keep pigs.
Couldn't be pigs. No, it was someone having a
bit of shut-eye. Bit of shut-eye in the cellar, so it
Right kind ofday ror a snooze, but funny place
to go for it. Humming like a bumble bee, Albert
approached nearer.
That's where it was coming from--through that S® little grating. Grunt, grunt, grunt. Snoooooore.
Snoooooore. Snoooooore--grunt, grunt, grunt.
Funny sort of snore--reminded him of some-' ^""^ thing...
"Coo!" said Albert. "That's what it is--S.O.S. ^
--Dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot." ^ He looked round him with a quick glance. Wf^^
Then, kneeling down, he tapped a soft message
on the iron grille of the little window of the cellar. !ws
,,><«<« »>»><«
^ "a '
Although Tuppence went to bed in an optimistic
frame of mind, she suffered a severe reaction in
* those waking hours of early dawn when human morale sinks to its lowest. Sy
, On descending to breakfast, however, her
Spirits were raised by the sight of a letter on her
plate addressed in a painfully backhanded script.
This was no communication from Douglas,
Raymond or Cyril, or any other of the camouflaged
correspondence that arrived punctually for
her, and which included this morning a brightly
coloured Bonzo postcard with a scrawled "Sorry I
haven't written before. All well, Maudie" on it.
Tuppence thrust this aside and opened the
letter. n^>^€p-' .- .
dear patricia [it ran], ^ te ^ . Auntie Grace is, I am afraid, much worse <s today. The doctors do not actually say she is
sinking, but I am afraid that there cannot be
much hope. If you want to see her before the ^ end I think it would be well to come today. If X I'll you will take the 10:20 train to Yarrow, a |||
|tf friend will meet you with his car. 8k* III Shall look forward to seeing you again,
dear, in spite of the melancholy reason.
Yours ever, ^ IN|
'""" ' US? penelope playne.
NORM? ^195
s It was all Tuppence could do to restrain her
jubilation. ,^ ^ ^ Good old Penny Playne. "^ v.y- g
With some difficulty she assumed a mourning ^expression--and sighed heavily as she laid the letliter
down.
To the two sympathetic listeners present, Mrs.
O'Rourke and Miss Minton, she imparted the contents
of the letter, and enlarged freely on the personality
of Aunt Gracie, her indomitable spirit,
her indifference to air raids and danger, and her
vanquishment by illness. Miss Minton tended to ^be curious as to the exact nature of Aunt Grade's
sufferings and compared them interestedly with
the diseases of her own cousin Selina. Tuppence,
hovering slightly between dropsy and diabetes, ground herself slightly confused, but comprom|ised
on complications with the kidneys. Mrs. fcO'Rourke displayed an avid interest as to whether
Tuppence would benefit pecuniarily by the old
lady's death and learned that dear Cyril had al|ways
been Aunt Grade's favourite grandnephew
|^ as well as being her godson.
|K After breakfast Tuppence rang up the tailor's
||;and cancelled a fitting of a coat and skirt for that
1||afternoon, and then sought out Mrs. Perenna and
explained that she might be away from home for a
night or two. ^i^
Mrs. Perenna expressed the usuaFconventional
sentiments. She looked tired this morning, and
had an anxious harassed expression.
II "Still no news of Mr. Meadowes," she said. "It
reallyis/wos/odd.isitnot?" ^^^
"I'm sure he must have met with*an accident,''' sighed Mrs. Blenkensop. "I always said so."
"Oh, but surely, Mrs. Blenkensop, the accident
196 Agatha Christie
would have been reported by this time.'' f^
"Well, what do you think?" asked Tuppence.
Mrs. Perenna shook her head.
"I really don't know what to say. I quite agree
that he can't have gone away of his own free will.
He would have sent word by now."
"It was always a most unjustified suggestion,"
said Mrs. Blenkensop warmly. "That horrid Major
Bletchley started it. No, if it isn't an accident,;^ it must be loss of memory. I believe that is far.
more common than is generally known, especially
at times of stress like those we are living through
now." H^a'.-- B i|fe%s
Mrs. Perenna nodded her head. She pursed up
her lips with rather a doubtful expression. She
shot a quick look at Tuppence.
"You know, Mrs. Blenkensop," she said, "we
don't know very much about Mr-^Meadowes, do;
we?" |
Tuppence said sharply: "What do you mean?"
"Oh, please don't take me up so sharply. I don't believe it--not for a minute." wy p
"Don't believe what?" i|^, &
"This story that's going around." iH w "What story? I haven't heard anything."
"No--well--perhaps people wouldn't tell you.
I don't really know how it started. I've an idea
that Mr. Cayley mentioned it first. Of course he's
rather a suspicious man, if you know what !„ mean?" |
| Tuppence contained herself with as much pa|
tience as possible. ^ '^^9^ } "Please tell me, "she said. "A - "Well, it was just a suggestion, you know, that
Mr. Meadowes might be an enemy agent--one of,
these dreadful Fifth Column people.'' |1
NORM? l||,e 197
Tuppence put all she could of an outraged Mrs.
Blenkensop into her indignant:
"I never heard of such an absurd idea!"
"No. I don't think there's anything in it. But,
of course, Mr. Meadowes was seen about a good
deal with that German boy--and I believe he
asked a lot of questions about the chemical processes
at the factory--and so people think that ^^a perhaps the two of them might have been working
together." ---;^.%s« .„", <"» .'-^ k,. Tuppence said: "^oioA'a&aS ^-.. was" i~.i" 1§ "You don't think there's any doubt about Carl,
do you, Mrs. Perenna?" a tMN 'y |? She saw a quick spasm distort the other
woman's face. ^>
"I wish I could think it was not true."
Tuppence said gently: ,,„.,, „
"PoorSheila..." iV » ^ Mrs. Perenna's eyes flashed. Ki^^ "Her heart's broken, the poor child. Why
should it be that way? Why couldn't it be someone
else she set her heart upon? " s^sy , ? ; ;y, saw Tuppence shook her head. w^'^y^ '^ "Things don't happen that way." «% .
"You're right." The other spoke in a deep, bitter
voice. "It's got to be the way things tear you to
pieces . . . It's got to be sorrow and bitterness and
dust and ashes. I'm sick of the cruelty--the unfairness
of this world. I'd like to smash it and
break it--and let us all start again near to the earth
and without these rules and laws and the tyranny
of nation over nation .I'd like--''
A cough interrupted her. A deep, throaty
cough. Mrs. O'Rourke was standing in the doorway, her vast bulk filling the aperture completely.
"Am I interrupting now?" she demanded.
198 <®fA@ Agatha Christie ^
^ Like a sponge across a slate, all evidence of
*-•• Mrs. Perenna's outburst vanished from her face—
leaving in its wake only the mild worried face of
the proprietress of a guest house whose guests
1|§ were causing trouble. H|
"No, indeed, Mrs. O'Rourke." she said. "We
Vj& '^were just talking about what had become of Mr.
Meadowes. It's amazing the police can find no
^'''e™ trace of him."
IS, "Ah, the police!" said Mrs. O'Rourke in tones
of easy contempt. "What good would they be? No
good at all, at all! Only fit for finding motor cars,
^^^iand dropping on poor wretches who haven't taken
j|j out their dog licenses.''
"What's your theory, Mrs. O'Rourke?" asked
B'""' g|Tuppence.
^', "You'll have been hearing the story that's going
g^about?" . •
^ "About his being a Fascist, and an enliiny "agent
—yes," said Tuppence coldly.
"It might be true now," said Mrs. O'Rourke
thoughtfully, "for there's been something about
,§§iftthe man that's intrigued me from the beginning.
tali I've watched him, you know." She smiled directly
»„ a ^ Tuppence—and like all Mrs. O'Rourke's smiles
it had a vaguely terrifying quality—the smile of an
ogress. "He'd not the look of a man who'd retired
from business and had nothing to do with himself.
I If I was backing my judgment, I'd say he came
"here with a purpose." aS
"And when the police got on his track he disapi
peared, is that it?" demanded Tuppence.
j "It might be so," said Mrs. Q'J|ourke.
1 "What's your opinion, Mrs. Perenna?"H§i
w "I don't know," sighed Mrs. Perenna. "It's a
y^.s'^-v^j^s'.s.s^ss. -.'.v---
NORM? 199
most vexing thing to happen. It makes so much talk"
"Ah! talk won't hurt you. They're happy now
out there on the terrace wondering and surmising.
They'll have it in the end th?-; r,s quiet inoffensive
man was going to blow us all ^'p in our beds with
bombs."
"You haven't told us what you think," said
Tuppence.
Mrs. O'Rourke smiled, that same slow ferocious
smile. ^i,. ^.')%jss '.:'&;:! '1?- ''v'1 j&'Tm thinking that the man is safe somewhere fi||S;
'---quite safe..." te^^ss;,;*; ^% a^ Tuppence thought: Ae'^*< te« ^ "She might say that if she knew .. . But he isn't
where she thinks he is!"
She went up to her room to get ready. Betty
| Sprot came running out of the Cayleys' bedroom ;
te with a smile of mischievous and impish glee on her
face. 1
"What have you been up to, minx?" demanded I
^| Tuppence. ^
Betty gurgled, iti .' ^-^
y i: " Goosey, goosey gander..." ^ g» Tuppence chanted:
^"Whither will you wander? l/pstairs!" She
snatched up Betty high over her head."Z?pwi- stairs!" She rolled her on the floor-- ri^llSl
At this minute Mrs. Sprot appeared and Betty J was led off to be attired for her walk. "Hide?" said Betty hopefully. "Hide?"
r; "You can't play hide and seek now," said Mrs.
Sprot.
Tuppence went into her room and donned her
hat. (A nuisance having to wear a hat--Tuppence fe% M
,,., 200 IB?!:^ Agatha Christie %ft
®';< Beresford never did—but Patricia Blenkensop
would certainly wear one. Tuppence felt.)
;;;; Somebody, she noted, had altered the position
|||| of the hats in her hat cupboard. Had someone
^ been searching her room? Well, let them. They
wouldn't find anything to cast doubt on blameless
Mrs. Blenkensop.
She left Penelope Playne's letter artistically on
the dressing table and went downstairs and out of |
| the house. .' . |
It was ten o'clock as she turned out of the gate.
Plenty of time. She looked up at the sky and in do-
•'wS ;ng so stepped into a dark puddle by the gatepost,
,, but without apparently noticing it she went on. |
f^3j. Her heart was dancing wildly. Success—success |
^'.'.^ —they were going to succeed.
Yarrow was a small country station where the
|||| village was some distance from the railway. " ^
t^ Outside the station a car was waiting. A good g|
looking young man was driving it. He touched his
»M peaked cap to Tuppence, but the gesture seemed
^ hardly natural. ;,,„,
Tuppence kicked the off side tire dubiously.lHs
"Isn't this rather nat?''^gl||l||%| |
:; :• "We haven't far to go, Madam:"|||"''^M
I She nodded and got in. i^^ » ^
I They drove, not towards the village, but |
'•• towards the downs. After winding up over a hill, '"•
1%, they took a side track that dropped sharply into a
deep cleft. From the shadow of a small copse of |
trees a figure stepped out to meet them. |
4 The car stopped and Tuppence, gettirig"'but, I
EBHt went to meet Antony Marsdon. •ss^——
;^ NORM?^' 201
"Beresford's all right," he said quickly. "We
located him yesterday. He's a prisoner--the other
side got him--and for good reasons he's remaining
put for another twelve hours. You see, there's
a small boat due in at a certain spot--and we want
to catch her badly. That's why Beresford's lying
low--we don't want to give the show away until
the last minute." 9^^' '. ^.^
He looked at her anxiously. "^ '; agj '; "You do understand, don't you?" ^
"Oh, yes!" Tuppence was staring at a curious ,
tangled mass of canvas material half hidden by the <; "
. ° my ' ^"si- ' 7-- trees. g||| . ,gg - .^,y
"He'll be absolutely all right," continued the ;
young man earnestly.
"Of course Tommy will be all right," said Tuppence
impatiently. "You needn't talk to me as
though I were a child of two. We're both ready to
run a few risks. What's that thing over there?"
"Well--" the young man hesitated. "That's j
just it. I've been ordered to put a certain proposi-gg^ tion before you. But--but, well, frankly, I don't t! like doing it. You see--'' ,„
Tuppence treated him to a cold stare, i^f
"Why don't you like doing it?" ^ |||
"Well--dash it--you're Deborah's mother.
And I mean--what would Deb say to me if--if--"
"If I got it in the neck?" inquired Tuppence.
"Personally, if I were you, I shouldn't mention it
to her. The man who said explanations were a
mistake was quite right." ^J^g
Then she smiled kindly at him. ^ ^
"My dear boy, I know exactly how you feel.
That it's all very well for you and Deborah and the
young generally to run risks, but that the mere
middle-aged must be shielded. All complete non-
:C M .
202 Agatha Christie
sense, because if anyone is going to be liquidated it
is much better it should be the middle-aged who
have had the best part of their lives. Anyway, stopS looking upon me as that sacred object, Deborah's
mother, and just tell me what dangerous and unpleasant
job there is for me to do."
"You know," said the young man witfl enthusiasm,
"I think you're splendid, simply splendid."
n'
"Cut out the compliments," said Tuppence.
"I'm admiring myself a good deal, so there's no;
need for you to chime in. What exactly is the big.^ idea?" ^
Tony indicated the mass of crumpled material:^;
with a gesture. |g| |gg
"That," he said, "is the remains of a para?.
chute." ^
"Aha," said Tuppence. Her eyes sparkled. "S
"There was just an isolated parachutist," went
on Marsdon. "Fortunately the L.D.V.'s around
here are quite a bright lot. The descent was
spotted, and they got her."gg|
"Her9" a" BBB -WS^Ma
"Yes, her! Woman dressed as a hospital!
nurse."
"I'm sorry she wasn't a nun," said Tuppence.J "There have been so many good stories going j|
around about nuns paying their fares in buses with^^ hairy muscular arms." ®-K
"Well, she wasn't a nun and she wasn't a man y in disguise. She was a woman of medium height, ||
middle-aged, with dark hair and of slight build." jK
B'^In fact," said Tuppence, "a woman not unlike
e?" ^ ^ "You've hit it exactly," said Tony. ,,,<»- '&&.....^ "Well?'' said Tuppence. <i&
llg'NORM? ^ 203
Marsdon said slowly: .^; <agil.iyp;
"The next part of it is up to you." ;
Tuppence smiled. She said:
"I'm on all right. Where do I go and what do I
do?"
"I say, Mrs. Beresford, you really ^e a sport.
Magnificent nerve you've got." ^i
"Where do I go and what do 1 do?" repeated
Tuppence impatiently.
"The instructions are very meagre, unfortu- wu nately. In the woman's pocket there was a piece of '.;ag paper with these words on it in German: 'Walk to US
Leatherbarrow--due east from the stone cross. 14
St. Asalph's Road. Dr. Binion.' " ;®%
Tuppence looked up. On the hill top hear by w^ was a stone cross.
"That's it," said Tony. "Signposts have been
removed, of course. But Leatherbarrow's a biggish
place and walking due east from the cross ||
you're bound to strike it." ..;* p
"How far?" ^ ^ "'li"'t""l"
"Five miles at least." ' y^
Tuppence made a slight grimace. ;
"Healthy walking exercise before lunch," she
commented. "I hope Dr. Binion offers me lunch
when I get there."
"Do you know German, Mrs. Beresford?"
"Hotel variety only. I shall have to be firm
about speaking English--say my instructions were
to do so."
I' "It's an awful risk,"said Marsdon. [s;
"Nonsense. Who's to imagine there's been a
substitution? Or does everyone know for miles
round that there's been a parachutist brought
down?"
"The two L.D.V. men who reported it are being
^r '.'^
204 ^Agatha Christie »*»
kept by the Chief Constable. Don't want to risk.
$«; 'g^Sitheir telling their friends how clever they have,. ^Mbeen!" ':.
"Somebody else may have seen it--or heard
about it?" ,.'||| I""""" Tony smiled, |gf ' ^ "My dear Mrs. Beresford, every single day,
word goes round that one, two, three, four, up to
;^;,a hundred parachutists have been seen!"
iSs? "That's probably quite true," agreed Tup-
K^': pence. "Well. lead me to it." %; 'SK. [„„.,
A"-1: _ . , B,.t»< -'"' B''s' a®"' ;;„: pounds Tony said: ^
' "We've got the kit herH^and a policewoman
who's an expert in the art of makeup. Come with
Just inside the copse there was a tumbledown
lit shed. At the door of it was a competent looking
, middle-aged woman.
^a She looked at Tuppence and nodded approvraffl,.,,
.,ingly.
? Inside the shed, seated on an upturned packing ®| case. Tuppence submitted herself to expert ministrations.
Finally the operator stood back, nodded
approvingly and remarked:
>«»^ "There now, I think we've made a very nice job
of it. What do you think, sir?" s^^mis^-. US "Very good indeed," said Tony.
Tuppence stretched out her hand and took the
8 mirror the other woman held. She surveyed her
own face earnestly and could hardly repress a cry g@ of surprise.
The eyebrows had been trimmed to an entirely
different shape, altering the whole expression. IS, Small pieces of adhesive plaster hidden by curls
|H pulled forward over the ears had tightened the
skin of the face and altered its contours. A small
" N OR M?^% 205
aS%S
H amount of nose putty had altered the shape of the
| nose, giving Tuppence an unexpectedly beaklike
gj profile. Skillful makeup had added several years E to her age, with heavy lines running down each i,,^ | side of the mouth. The whole face had a complasy^Si | cent, rather foolish look. IS! i "It's frightfully clever," said Tuppence admiringly.
She touched her nose gingerly.
"You must be careful," the other*"woman
warned her. She produced two slices of thin indiarubber.
"Do you think you could bear to wear
these in your cheeks?"
"I suppose I shall have to," said Tuppence
gloomily, j
She slipped them in and worked her jaws
carefully.
"It's not really too uncomfortable," she had to
IB iiS&i'l' '?"^'yS" '''fi'?'^'^ '' -'"''',' -~ ''"'~i
|admit.|||| l^gg . 1:^ s^I' I is
Tony then discreetly left the shed and Tuppence
shed her own clothing and got into the nurse's kit.
It was not too bad a fit, though inclined to strain a
little over the shoulders. The dark blue bonnet put
the final touch to her new personality. She rejected,
however, the stout square-toed shoes. |^%
"If I've got to walk five miles," she said
I decidedly, "I'll do it in my own shoes."
They both agreed that this was reasonable--
particularly as Tuppence's own shoes were dark »,y,
blue brogues that went well with the uniform. Ill
She looked with interest into the dark blue
handbag--powder--no lipstick--two pounds
fourteen and sixpence in English money, a handkerchief
and an identity card in the name of Freda ^Iton, 4 Manchester Road, Sheffield.
Tuppence transferred her own powder and
jlipstick and stood up, prepared to set out.
>
206 Agatha C^hristie
Tony Marsdon turned h his head away. He said
gruffly:
"I feel a swine letting yolou do this."
;,,,"! know just how you feeeel."
""But, you see, it's absolutely vital--that we
should get some idea of juslst where and how the attack
will come."
Tuppence patted him on h the arm. /
"Don't worry, my childd. Believe it or not, I'm enjoying myself." ';;5yA:^ K
Tony Marsdon said agairin: " 11
"I think you're simply wwonderful!" H
Somewhat weary, Tuppipence stood outside 14 M St. Asalph's Road and not^ed that Dr. Binion was " "I
a dental surgeon and not a <i doctor. ,^
From the corner of heier eye she noted Tony
Marsdon. He was sitting inn a racy looking car outside
a house further down tl the street.
It had been judged nece;essary for Tuppence to
walk to Leatherbarrow exaiactly as instructed, since
if she had been driven therq-e in a car the fact might
have been noted.
It was certainly true that t two enemy aircraft had
| passed over the downs, circ-cling low before making
off, and they could have nnoted the nurse's lonely
. figure walking across country.
I Tony, with the expert poolicewoman, had driven
off in the opposite directicion and had made a big j detour before approachining Leatherbarrow and
taking up his position in St.t. Asalph's Road. ' Everything was now set. .
"The arena doors open,'," murmured Tuppence.
| "Enter one Christian en r<route for the lions. Oh,
; N OR M? 207
well, nobody can say I'm not seeing life."
She crossed the road and rang the bell, wondering
as she did so, exactly how much Deborah liked
that young man. ^fs>
The door was opened by an elderly woman with
a stolid peasant face--not an English face.
"Dr. Binion?" said Tuppence.
The woman looked her slowly up and down.
"You will be Nurse Eiton, I siippose/'
"Yes." III.
"Then you will come up to the doctor's
surgery." 'svg
She stood back, the door closed behind Tup"^'
pence, who found herself standing in a narrow
linoleum lined hall.
The maid preceded her upstairs and opened a
door on the next floor. tH
I "Please to wait. The doctor will come to you."
She went out, shutting the door behind her.
A very ordinary dentist's surgery--the appointments
somewhat old and shabby.
Tuppence looked at the dentist's chair and
smiled to think that for once it held none of the
usual terrors. She had the "dentist feeling" all
right--but from quite different causes.
Presently the door would open and "Dr.
| Binion" would come in. Who would Dr. Binion
be? A stranger? Or someone she had seen before?
If it was the person she was half expecting to see--
The door opened.
The man who entered was not at all the person
Tuppence had half fancied she might see! It was
someone she had never considered as a likely
|starter.
It was Commander Haydock. jp|%l|
A flood of wild surmises as to the part Commander
Haydock had played in Tommy's disappearance
surged through Tuppence's brain, but
she thrust them resolutely aside. This was a moment
for keeping all her wits about her. ?;" I
Would or would not the Commander recognize
her? It was an interesting question. ;
She had so steeled herself beforehand to display ;
no recognition or surprise herself, no matter
whom she might see, that she felt reasonably sure
that she herself had displayed no signs untoward
to the situation.
She rose now to her feet and stood there, standing
in a respectful attitude, as befitted a mere German
woman in the presence of a Lord of creation.
"So you have arrived," said the Commander.!
He spoke in English and his manner was precisely
the same as usual.
"Yes," said Tuppence, and added, as though
presenting her credentials: "Nurse Eiton."
Haydock smiled as though at a joke.
"Nurse Eiton! Excellent." ||| ,v
gg He looked at her approvingly.
"You look absolutely right," he said kindly.
Tuppence inclined her head, but said nothing.
She was leaving the initiative to him.
,4 "You know, I suppose, what you have to do?"
went on Haydock. "Sit down, please."
a^Sp ' ::
SS NORM? " ' 209
Tuppence sat down obediently. She replied:
"I was to take detailed instructions from you."
"Very proper," said Haydock. There was a
faint suggestion of mockery in his voice. "I He said: ,';^. ^ | "You know the day?" ^ " S Tuppence made a rapid decision.fe^ ^PH "The fourth!" fe--.^
Haydock looked startled. A heavy frown
creased his forehead.
"So you know that, do you?" he muttered.lH
There was a pause, then Tuppence said:
"You will tell me, please, what I have to do?"
Haydock said: s?
"All in good time, my dear."^2
He paused a minute and then asked: ^S-^fe "You have heard, no doubt, of Sans Souci?"
1^ "No," said Tuppence.
f^- "You haven't?" ^'^^9 "No," said Tuppence firmly.11*^"
"Let's see how you, 4§aj, with that one!" she
thought, s%®:<";3:;
There was a queer smile on the Commander's
face. He said:
"So you haven't heard of Sans Souci? That surprises
me very much--since I was under the impression,
you know, that you'd been living there
for the last month ..." There was a dead silence. The Commander said:
"What about that, Mrs. Blenkensop?"
™"I don't know what you mean. Dr. Binion. I
landed by parachute this morning."
Again Haydock smiled--definitely an unpleasant
smile. ^W-y egSl
He said: ' ' .-'^" ''*"" ' ": "A few yards of canvas thrust into a bush create
;^ ^
, " a^;"'^
210 Agatha Christie
a wonderful illusion. And I am not Dr. Binion,
dear lady. Dr. Binion is, officially, my dentist--he
is good enough to lend me his surgery now and
again." v "Indeed?" said Tuppence, s^
"Indeed, Mrs. Blenkensop! Or perhaps you
would prefer me to address you by your real name
y^ ofBeresford?"
Again there was a poignant silence. Tuppence
drew a deep breath.
Haydock nodded. , - :' ^ ;;^ ||
"The game's up, you see.'You've walked into
my parlour,' said the spider to the fly."
There was a faint click and a gleam of blue steel
showed in his hand. His voice took on a grim note
as he said: JSJJJ K" ^
"And I shouldn't advise you to make any noise
or try to arouse the neighbourhood! You'd be
dead before you got so much as a yelp out, and
even if you did manage to scream it wouldn't
arouse attention. Patients under gas, you know,
often cry out." ^ a*,. ;
Tuppence said composedly: S|
"You seem to have thought of everything. Has
. , it occurred to you that I have friends who know % where I am?"
"Ah! Still harping on the blue-eyed boy--actually
brown eyed! Young Antony Marsdon. I'm
sorry, Mrs. Beresford, but young Antony happens
»a to be one of our most stalwart supporters in this
l||i country. As I said just now, a few yards of canvas
'S creates a wonderful effect. You swallowed the
HH parachute idea quite easily."
"I don't see the point of all this rigmarole!"^ M "Don't you? We don't want your friends to "H" trace you too easily, you see. // they pick up your
NORM? 211
trail it will lead to Yarrow and to a man in a car.
The fact that a hospital nurse, of quite different
facial appearance, walked into Leatherbarrow
between one and two will hardly be connected
with your disappearance." ^ ^'^1
"Very elaborate," said Tuppence. % | ,Rg;Haydock said:
Hi." I admire your nerve, you know. I admire it
very much. I'm sorry to have to coerce you--but
it's vital that we should know just exactly how
much you did discover at Sans Souci."
Tuppence did not answer.
Haydock said quietly: a&S
"I'd advise you, you know, to come clean.
There are certain--possibilities--in a dentist's
- ^Ay"^' "y'*--' .'^^"t" vy.r^'s'vv-,
chair and instruments.'' K£^S
Tuppence merely threw turn a scornful look.
Haydock leaned back in his chair. He said
slowly:
"Yes--I daresay you've got a lot of fortitude--
your type often has. But what about the other half
of the picture?' ^
"What do you mean?" fc'" "" "
"I'm talking about Thomas Beresford, your
husband, who has lately been living at Sans Souci
under the name of Mr. Meadowes, and who is now very conveniently trussed up in the cellar of
my house." ^
Tuppence said sharply:
, "I don't believe it."
I "Because of the Penny Playne letter? Don't you
realize that that was just a smart bit of work on
the part of young Antony. You played into his
hands nicely when you gave him the code.''^^!^
Tuppence's voice trembled. Ill^
a "Then Tommy--then Tommy--" ^
212 Agatha Christie
"Tommy," said Commander Haydock, "is
where he has been all along--completely in my
power! It's up to you now. If you answer my questions
satisfactorily, there's a chance for him. If
you don't--well, the original plan holds. He'll be
knocked on the head, taken out to sea and put
overboard."
Tuppence was silent for a minute or two--then
she said:
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know who employed you, what your
means of communication with that person or persons
are, what you have reported so far, and
exactly what you know?" gl| ||/''
Tuppence shrugged her shoulders. "r
"I could tell you what lies I chose," she pointed
out.
"No, because I shall proceed to test what you
say." He drew his chair a little nearer. His manner
was now definitely appealing--"My dear woman
--I know just what you feel about it all, but do
believe me when I say I really do admire both you
and your husband immensely. You've got grit and
pluck. It's people like you who will be needed in
the new State--the State that will arive in this
country when your present imbecile Government
is vanquished. We want to turn some of our
enemies into friends--those that are worth while.
If I have to give the order that ends your husband's
life, I shall do it--it's my duty--but I shall
feel really badly about having to do it! He's a fine
fellow---quiet, unassuming and clever. Let me impress
upon you what so few people in this country
seem to understand. Our Leader does not intend
to conquer this country in the sense that you all
think. He aims at creating a new Britain--a Bri-
NORM? 213
tain strong in its own power--ruled over, not by
Germans, but by Englishmen. And the best type
of Englishmen--Englishmen with brains and
breeding and courage. A brave new world, as
Shakespeare puts it." ,
He leaned forward, 'w-
"We want to do away with muddle and inefficiency.
With bribery and corruption. With selfseeking
and money-grubbing-- and in this new
state we want people like you and your husband-- brave and resourceful--enemies that have been,
friends to be. You would be surprised if you knew
how many there are in this country, as in others,
who have sympathy with and belief in our aims.
Among us all we will create a new Europe--a
Europe of peace and progress. Try and see it that
way--because, I assure you--it is that way..."
His voice was compelling, magnetic. Leaning
forward, he looked the embodiment of a straightforward
British sailor, ^"s
Tuppence looked at him and searched her mind
for a telling phrase. She was only able to find one
that was both childish and rude.
"Goosey, goosey gander!" said Tuppence.. ^.
II
The effect was so magical that she was quite
taken aback.
Haydock jumped to his feet, his face went dark
purple with rage, and in a second all likeness to a
hearty British sailor had vanished. She saw what
Tommy had once seen--an infuriated Prussian.
H; He swore at her fluently in German. Then,
changing to English, he shouted:
214 ; Agatha Christie v^
w.s ,jiite"You infernal little fool! Don't you realize you
^ give yourself away completely answering like that?
You've done for yourself now--you and your
precious husband.'' AS ;.,. Raising his voice he called: ^ ^ "Anna!" - - -?;M£ ll The woman who had admitted Tuppence came
into the room. Haydock thrust the pistol into her
i|| hand. :,^
'""" "Watch her. Shoot if necessary." is§|§f'''' c,:,4, He stormed out of the room. -u All Tuppence looked appealingly at Anna, who
stood in front of her with an impassive face.
gUi "Would you really shoot me?" said Tuppence. ||
Anna answered quietly: ^ S" "You need not try to get round me. In the las? war my son was killed, my Otto. I was thirtyeight,
then--I^am sixty-two now--but I have not
forgotten." ^
Tuppence looked at the broad, impassive face.
It reminded her of the Polish woman, Vanda
Polonska. That same frightening ferocity and
singleness of purpose. Motherhood--unrelenting!
So, no doubt, felt many a quiet Mrs. Jones and
Mrs. Smith all over England. There was no arguyfSjjing with the female of the species--the mother ""^deprived of her young, ftga^
g^p Something stirred in the recesses of Tuppence's
l^lbrain--some nagging recollection--something ^-that she had always known but had never sucHB
ceeded in getting into the forefront of her mind.;:
Solomon--Solomon came into it somewhere...
The door opened. Commander Haydock came ;back into the room.
. He howled out, beside himself with rage:
| "Where is it? Where have you hidden it? "
* N OR M? 215
Tuppence stared at him. She was completely
taken aback. What he was saying did not make
sense to her.
She had taken nothing and hidden nothing. :
Haydock said to Anna: ^ r
"Get out."
The woman handed the pistol to him and left
the room promptly.
Haydock dropped into a chair and seemed to be
striving to pull himself together. He said:
I "You can't get away with it, you know. I've got
you--and I've got ways of making people speak--
not pretty ways. You'll have to tell the truth in the
end. Now then, what have you done with it?"
Tuppence was quick to see that here, at least,
was something that gave her the possibility of
bargaining. If only she could find out what it was
she was supposed to have in her possession.
She said cautiously: t"
"How do you know I've got it?" %
B "From what you said, you damned little fool.
You haven't got it on you--that we know, since
you changed completely into this kit." '
"Suppose I posted it to someone?" said Tuppence.

"Don't be a fool. Everything you posted since
yesterday has been examined. You didn't post it.
No, there's only one thing you could have done.
Hidden it in Sans Souci before you left this morning.
I give you just three minutes to tell me where
that hiding place is." ,
„ He put his watch down on the table. k^ I "Three minutes, Mrs. Thomas Beresford."
The clock on the mantelpiece ticked.
Tuppence sat quite still with a blank impassive
face.
216 Agatha Christie
It revealed nothing of the racing thoughts
behind it. ]
In a flash of bewildering light she saw every-l^,
thing--saw the whole business revealed in terms ofJ^U blinding clarity and realized at last who was the|lg||
centre and pivot of the whole organization.
It came quite as a shock to her when Haydock "
said: ^ ^ :""
''Ten seconds more ..." B SS
Like one in a dream she watched him, saw thes;,;^ pistol arm rise, heard him count: 1|»
"One, two, three, four, five--"
He had reached eight when the shot rang out
and he collapsed forward on his chair, an expression
of bewilderment on his broad red face. So intent
had he been on watching his victim that he||- had been unaware of the door behind him slowly ,j opening. ^ tIn
a flash Tuppence was on her feet. She pushed4 |
her way past the uniformed men in the doorway, fe
and seized on a tweed clad arm. |:
"Mr. Grant." ^ ^, . - ^l^;
"Yes, yes, my dear, it's all right now--you've | been wonderful--" ® ^
Tuppence brushed aside these reassurances. BBS y,
"Quick! There's nojime to lose. You've got a^, car here?" Hit |
g "Yes. "He stared." g!| |
"A fast one? We must get to Sans Souci a/§ once. If only we're in time. Before they telephone p:
here, and get no answer." .„ Is
Two minutes later they were in the car, and itIS^'fc
was threading its way through the streets of
Leatherbarrow. Then they were out in the open
country and the needle of the speedometer was ris-a ?
N OR M? 217
Mr. Grant asked no questions. He was content
to sit quietly whilst Tuppence watched the speedometer
in an agony of apprehension. The chauffeur
had been given his orders and he drove with
all the speed of which the car was capable. yQ, g Tuppence spoke only once. .;.,;,,^. "Tommy?" ' :
"Quite all right. Released half an hour ago."
She nodded.
Now, at last, they were nearing Leahampton.
They darted and twisted through the town, up the
hill.
Tuppence jumped out and she and Mr. Grant
ran up the drive. The hall door, as usual, was
open. There was no one in sight. Tuppence ran
lightly up the stairs. ;^ ^ r^.
She just glanced inside her own room in passing,
and noted the confusion of open drawers and
disordered bed. She nodded and passed on, along
the corridor and into the room occupied by. Mr.
and Mrs. Cayley. --,
The room was empty. It looked peaceful and
smelled slightly of medicines.
Tuppence ran across to the bed and pulled at the
coverings.
They fell to the ground and Tuppence ran her
hand under the mattress. She turned triumphantly
to Mr. Grant with a tattered child's picture book
in her hand.
"Here you are. It's all in here--"
"What on--"
They turned. Mrs. Sprot was standing in the
doorway staring.
"And now," said Tuppence, "let me introduce
you to M! Yes. Mrs. Sprot! I ought to have known
it all along."
^Wr^r k -»>->»<r.
"- ?"!"»,,' '"'"'SV -^"' 'fy'-w..-
^- ,,,,. %i ^ -^%a, ,^^,
i^ .,,^?' -T ^ J'-'-3 ^a*.,.. „ ^ .'"': "^:4,' ^' "'.' ^^ ''."-;" ^"'N:'' ^' ' '' ifi^^
'^; A-^ ' - ' Al-^IS's
"I ought to have known it all along," said Tuppence.

She was reviving her shattered nerves by a
generous tot of old brandy, and was beaming
alternately at Tommy and at Mr. Grant--and at»
Albert, who was sitting in front of a pint of beer^S and grinning from ear to ear.
"Tell us all about it. Tuppence," urged
Tommy. ^ ^
"You first," said Tuppence.
"There's not much for me to tell," said
Tommy. "Sheer accident let me into the secret of
the wireless transmitter. I thought I'd got away
with it, but Haydock was too smart for me."
Tuppence nodded and said: %^ ^
"He telephoned to Mrs. Sprot at once. And she
ran out into the drive and lay in wait for you with
the hammer. She was only away from the bridge
table for about three minutes. I did notice she was
a little out of breath--but I never suspected her."
"After that," said Tommy, "the credit belongs
entirely to Albert. He came sniffing round like a
faithful dog. I did some impassioned Morse snoring
and he cottoned on to it. He went off to Mr.
Grant with the news and the two of them came
back late that night. More snoring! Result was, I
agreed to remain put so as to catch the sea forces
when they arrived."
219
220 Agatha Christie ^
| g Mr. Grant added his quota.
I '"A "When Haydock went off this morning, our
| people took charge at Smugglers' ^Rest. We
I ^ ' nabbed the boat this evening." :--^
|^ "And now, Tuppence," said Tommy. "Your
^ story."
,, "Well, to begin with, I've been the most
j 'frightful fool all along! I suspected everybody
j here except Mrs. Sprot! I did once have a terrible
j feeling of menace, as though I was in danger|||
—that was after I overheard that telephone^
message about the 4t.h of the month. There were3
^ ^ three people there at the time—1 put down my^
^ feeling of apprehension to either Mrs. Perenna orls?
Mrs. O'Rourke. Quite wrong—it was the col-it,"
ourless Mrs. Sprot who was the really dangerous^
personality. |
j "I went muddling on, as Tommy knows, until|
after he disappeared. Then I was just cooking up a^
plan with Albert when suddenly, out of the blue,
Antony Marsdon turned up. It seemed all right to
begin with—the usual sort of young man that Deb
often has in tow. But two things made me think a
bit. First, I became more and more sure as I talked
to him that I hadn't seen him before and that he,;
never had been to the Hat. The second was that, S^
|[ though he seemed to know all about my working
at Leahampton, he assumed that Tommy was in|g
Scotland. Now that seemed all wrong. If he knew""
I - about anyone, it wou(d be Tommy he knew about,
since I was more or less unofficial. That struck me
as very odd.
^ "Mr. Grant had told me that Fifth Columnists
were everywhere—in the most unlikely places. So
why shouldn't one of them be working in
Deborah's show? I wasn't convinced, but I was
NORM? 221
R-
^suspicious enough to lay a trap for him. I told him
that Tommy and I had fixed up a code for communicating
with each other. Our real one, of
course, was a Bonzo postcard, but I told Antony a :
fairy tale about the Penny Plain, Twopence
Coloured saying.
"As I hoped, he rose to it beautifully! I got a
letter this morning which gave him away completely.

"The arrangements had been all worked out
beforehand. All I had to do was to ring up a tailor
and cancel a fitting. That was an intimation that
the fish had risen."
"Coo-er!" said Albert. "It didn't half give me a
turn. I drove up with a baker's van and we
dumped a pool of stuff just outside the gate.
Aniseed, it was--or smelled like it."
"And then"--Tuppence took up the tale--"I
came out and walked in it. Of course it was easy
for the baker's van to follow me to the station and
someone came up behind me and heard me book
to Yarrow. It was after that that it might have
been difficult." US
"The dogs followed the scent well," said Mr"®"' Grant. "They picked it up at Yarrow station and
again on the track the tire had made after you
rubbed your shoe on it. It led us down to the copse
and up again to the stone cross and after you
where you had walked over the downs. The enemy
had no idea we could follow you easily after they
themselves had seen you start and driven off
themselves."
"All the same," said Albert, "it gives me a
turn. Knowing you were in that house and not
knowing what might come to you. Got in a back
window, we did, and nabbed the foreign woman
222 Agatha Christie
as she came down the stairs. Come in just in th
nick of time, we did."
"I knew you'd come," said Tuppence. "Th<
thing was for me to spin things out as long as 1
could. I'd have pretended to tell if I hadn't seer
the door opening. What was really exciting wa;
the way I suddenly saw the whole thing and what i fool I'd been." ,. "How did you see it?" asked Tommy. ^K;^ "Goosey, goosey gander," said Tuppenc< promptly. "When I said that to Commandei
Haydock he went absolutely livid. And not jus
because it was silly afld crude. No, I saw at onci that it meant something to him. And then then
was the expression on that woman's faceAnna--it
was like the Polish woman's, and then
of course, I thought of Solomon and I saw thi whole thing." m
Tommy gave a sigh of exasperation.^ "Tuppence, if you say that once again, I'l
shoot you myself. Ss»w all what? And what 01
earth has Solomon got to do with it? " |s|
"Do you remember that two women came t(
Solomon with a baby and both said it was hers
but Solomon said, 'Very well, cut it in two.' Anc the false mother sai4, 'All right.' But the rea
mother said, 'No, let: the other woman have it.
You see, she couldn't face her child being killed
Well,' that night that Mrs. Sprot shot the other;
woman, you all said what a miracle it was and how
easily she might have shot the child. Of course, i
ought to have been quite plain then! If it had beet her child, she couldn't have risked that shot for i minute. It meant that Betty wasn't her child. Anc that's why she absolutely had to shoot the othei
p; NORM? 223
'^- ^',^ '^^"''i
"Whv7" "!*3'!" iaBK
"Because, of course, the other woman was the
child's real mother." Tuppence's voice shook a
little. '^ ||| ^
"Poor thing--poor hunted thing. She came
over a penniless refugee and gratefully agreed to
let Mrs. Sprot adopt her baby."
"Why did Mrs. Sprot want to adopt the child?"
"Camouflage? Supreme psychological camouflage.
You just can't conceive of a master spy
dragging her kid into the business. That's the main
reason why I never considered Mrs. Sprot seriously.
Simply because of the child. But Betty's
real mother had a terrible hankering for her baby
and she found out Mrs. Sprot's address and came
down here. She hung about waiting for her
chance, and at last she got it and went off with the
child.
"Mrs. Sprot, of course, was frantic. At all costs
she didn't want the police. So she wrote that message
and pretended she found it in her bedroom,
and roped in Commander Haydock to help. Then,
when we'd tracked down the wretched woman,
she was taking no chances and shot her. ... Far
from not knowing anything about firearms, she
was a very fine shot! Yes, she killed that wretched
woman--and because of that I've no pity for her.
She was bad through and through.' 'fed |ft
Tuppence paused, then she went on:
; "Another thing that ought to have given me a
I hint was the likeness between Vanda Polonska and
Betty. It was Betty the woman reminded me of all
; along. And then the child's absurd play with my
shoe-laces. How much more likely that she'd seen
her so-called mother do that--not Carl von
Deinim! But as soon as Mrs. Sprot saw what the
224 '^S Agatha Christie
m
M child was doing, she planted a lot of evidence in Carol's room for us to find and added the master
touch of a shoe-lace dipped in secret ink."
a "I'm glad that Carl wasn't in it," said Tommy.
"I liked him." |
"He's not been shot, has he?" asked Tuppence
anxiously, noting the past tense, a^
Mr. Grant shook his head. ** ^ i^l; "He's all right," he said. "As a matter of fact ^'.:. I've got a little surprise for you there." ^ |^ Tuppence's face lit up as she said: r w
"I'm terribly glad--for Sheila's sake! Of course" . we were idiots to go on barking up the wrong tree
after Mrs. Perenna.''
^ "She was mixed up in some I.R.A. activities,
nothing more," said Mr. Grant. ^
"I suspected Mrs. O'Rourke a little--and some- b times the Cayleys--" ^» ia- , "And I suspected Bletchley," put in Tommy.
1^, "And all the time," said Tuppence, "it was that
milk and water creature we just thought of as-- 'pi Betty'smother." ||g |
"Hardly milk and wafer," said Mr. Grant. "A
very dangerous woman and a very clever actress.
And, I'm sorry to say, English by birth." ,,, ,
Tuppence said: s;-% "Then I've no pity or admiration for her--it
wasn't even her country she was working for."
m She looked with fresh curiosity at Mr. Grant.
"You found what you wanted?" ?;;-. ;
Mr. Grant nodded.
"It was all in that battered set of duplicate
children's books." ; sMg zg "The ones that Betty said were nasty," Tup!'' pence exclaimed.
m
^Ss KOBDyfI? 225
'They were nasty," Said Mr. Grant drily. "Little Jack Horner contMained very full details of
our naval dispositions. ^Johnny Head in Air did
the same for the AirForoce. Military matters were
appropriately embodied in There Was a Little
Man and He Had a Little Gun."
"And Goosey, Gwsej^y Gander?" asked Tuppence.
,«,,^ ^
Mr. Grant said: Sil INI "Treated with the appropriate reagent, that
book contains, writteiin invisible ink, a full list of
all prominent personages who are pledged to assist
an invasion of this count-try. Amongst them were
two Chief Constables, a--i Air Vice-Marshal, two
Generals, the Head of a-an Armaments Works, a
Cabinet Minister, many Police Superintendents,
Commanders of Local Vcolunteer Defense Organizations,
and various nilitary and naval lesser fry,
as well as members orf our own Intelligence Force." ^ , , . Tommy and Tuppence stared. ^ ;'' Incredible!'' said the tformer. ' ^ Grant shook his head. W^, "You do not know tt±ie force of the German
propaganda. It appeals to something in man,
some desire or lust for p«ower. These people were
ready to betray their cou-mtry not for money, but
in a kind of megalonanSacal pride in what they, they themselves, were going to achieve for that
country. In every land it has been the same. It is
the Cult of Lucifer-- Lucfifer, Son of the Morning.
Pride and a desire forpersonal glory!" He added: ^ "You can realize tha», with such persons to
issue contradictory orders and confuse operations,
s">»»xt
^
&<llp
16

Darling," said Deborah. "Do you know I almost
thought the most terrible things about you?" ., "Did you?" said Tuppence. "When?"
t Her eyes rested affectionately on her daughter's
dark head. ||i| ^ gl|
"That time when you sloped off to Scotland to
join father and I thought you were with Aunt
Gracie. I almost thought you were having an affair
with someone." » „ w. »,,»,
"Oh, Deb, did you?" |g|
girj "Not really, of course. Not at your age. And, of
course, I know you and Carrot Top are devoted to
each other. It was really an idiot called Tony
Marsdon who put it into my head. Do you know,
mother--1 think I might tell you--he was found
afterwards to be a Fifth Columnist. He always did
talk rather oddly--how things would be just the
same, perhaps better, if Hitler did win." :3 4;
"Did you--er--like him at all?"
"Tony? Oh, no--he was always rather a bore. I
must dance this."
She floated away in the arms of a fair-haired
young man, smiling up at him sweetly. Tuppence
followed their revolutions for a few minutes, then H*' her eyes shifted to where a tall young man in Air ssa^.
Force uniform was dancing with a fair-haired
slender girl.
^1
;®a
"I do think. Tommy," said Tuppence, "that
227
228 Agatha Christie
our children are rather nice." ' ^5^ "Here's Sheila," said Tommy.
He got up as Sheila Perenna came towards their
table- She was dressed in an emerald evening dress
which showed up her dark beauty. It was a sullen
beauty tonight and she greeted her host and
hostess somewhat ungraciously.
"I've come, you see," she said, "as I promised.
But 1 can't think why you wanted to ask me."
"Because we like you," said Tommy, smiling.
"po you really?" said Sheila. "I can't think
why. I've been perfectly foul to you both."ay& She paused and murmured: -<:w<s*»»^;. w.,;
' "put I am grateful." <.^. .^.l^^^.ft.^.^--
Tiippence said: ^.a^A® ®-<sN% "We must find a nice partner to dance with
you." ^^^p^1^-" Nn ^« ^ "I don't want to dance. I loathe dancing. I
came Just to see you two."
"You will like the partner we've asked to meet
you," said Tuppence, smiling.
"I--" Sheila began. Then stopped--for Carl
von Deinim was walking across the floor.
Sheila looked at him like one dazed. She muttered:
"' ^WIB'*'^-"!^.^'-1
"you--" . ^'f-<'^^;«l ;;-.',,, 'M-y'l, myself," said Carl. ^^"'^ i*^"'
There was something a little different about
Carl von Deinim this evening. Sheila stared at
him, a trifle perplexed. The colour had come up in
her cheeks, turning them a deep glowing red. --
She said a little breathlessly: w ^ ¥' "! knew that you would be all right now--but I
s thought they would still keep you interned?" ---- ^^aCarl shook his head. A IST^
NORM?
229


"There is no reason to intern me." '^ He went on.
"You have got to forgive me, Sheila, for deceivt^ing
you. I am not, you see, Carl von Deinim at all.
|§I took his name for reasons of my own."
/ He looked questioningly at Tuppence, who
'said: I ,;: ^^^11®!!^' a "Go ahead. Tell her." ^.^-^(ita.&'a.--
"Carl von Deinim was my friend. I knew him in 'England some years ago. I renewed acquaintanceship
with him in Germany Just before the
war. I was there then on special business for this
country." J ^ "You were in the Intelligence?" asked Shellac ^
^ "Yes. When I was there, queer things began to :
happen. Once or twice I had some very near
escapes. My plans were known when they should^ g|
not have been known. I realized that there was
something very wrong and that 'the rot,' to ex- j
press it in their terms, had penetrated actually into 1
the service in which I was. I had been let down by
my own people. Carl and I had a certain superficial
likeness (my Grandmother was a German),
hence my suitability for work in Germany. Carl
was not a Nazi. He was interested solely in his
job--a job I myself had also practised--research ^^ chemistry. He decided, shortly before war brokel® out, to escape to England. His brothers had been
sent to concentration camps. There would, he ;^ thought, be great difficulties in the way of his own
escape, but in an almost miraculous fashion all
these difficulties smoothed themselves out. The
fact, when he mentioned it to me, made me somewhat
suspicious. Why were the authorities making
it so easy for von Deinim to leave Germany when
his brothers and other relations were in concentra-
230 Agatha Christie
tion camps and he limself was suspected because
of his anti-Nazi sympathies? It seemed as though
they wanted him in England for some reason. Myj
own position was becoming increasingly precarious.
Carol's lodgings were in the same house as
mine and one day I found him, to my sorrow, lying
dead on his bed. He had succumbed to depression
and taken his Own life, leaving a letter behind
1 1 t -1 _1 i^'y-S. ^.^^S&.V'rt
which I read and pocketed. siSs
"I decided then to effect a substitution. I
wanted to get out (,f Germany--and I wanted to
know why Carl was being encouraged to do so. I
dressed his body in my clothes and laid it on my
bed. It was disfigured by the shot he had fired into
his head. My landlady, I knew, was semi-blind. §||
"With Carl von JDeinim's papers I travelledtol
England and went to the address to which he had4 been recommended to go. That address was Sans^ Souci. |
g "Whilst I was there I played the part of CarlJ
}on Deinim and never relaxed. I found arrangements
had been maqe for me to work in the chem-j
ical factory there. At first I thought that the idea1'
was I should be compelled to do work for the
Nazis. I realized later that the part for which my
poor friend had beeii cast was that of scapegoat.
"When I was arrested and faked evidence. I
said nothing. I wanted to leave the revelation of
my own identity as late as possible. I wanted to see
what would happen.
| "It was only a few days ago that I was recognized
by one of our people and the truth camel
out." :^-^ffi
.-.' r,.;.^^^
p Sheila said reproachfully: : * '4 "You should havt; told me.'W ^ ^
;- .NORM? ^.. ., 231
I He said gently:
|" . "If you feel like that--I am sorry.'' "° E His eyes looked into hers. She looked at him
angrily and proudly--then the anger melted. She
"I suppose you had to do what you did...."
"Darling--"
He caught himself up.
"Come and dance...." ^^ it. They moved off together. ;©%
Tuppence sighed. K.^'^S-1' ' :^'.
"What's the matter?' '"said Tommy.
"I do hope Sheila will go on caring for him now
that he isn't a German outcast with everyone
against him."
"She looks as though she cared all right."
"Yes, but the Irish are terribly perverse. And
Sheila is a born rebel."
"Why did he search your room that day? That's
what led us up the garden path so terribly." ^,;
Tommy gave a laugh. Sg§
| "I gather he thought Mrs. Blenkensop wasn't a
very convincing person. In fact--while we were
suspecting him he was suspecting us."
"Hullo, you two," said Derek Beresford as he
and his partner danced past his parents' table.
"Why don't you come and dance?"
He smiled encouragingly at them. ^
"They are so kind to us, bless 'em," said Tuppence.

Presently the twins and their partners returned
and sat down.
Derek said to his father: H| ^
"Glad you got a job all right. Not very interesting
I suppose?" iSI''" USt
«|ig3232;Eift ^yig^Agatha Christie . '' i:~i^i'
y-w^ ;As;t 'tessS
^ "Mainly routine," said Tommy, Ipl
I' "Never mind, you're doing something; That's 3 the great thing."
"And I'm glad mother was allowed to go and
work, too," said Deborah. "She looks ever so
| much happier. It wasn't too dull, was it,
mother?" ^
B"I didn't find it at all dull," said Tuppence'.**^ "Good," said Deborah. She added, "When the
war's over, I'll be able to tell you something about
? my job. It's really frightfully interesting, but very
| confidential." ||T i^^;'t|j'<''' |
4g "How thrilling,'* said Tuppence. ^ p "Oh, it is! Of course, it's not so thrilling as flyShe
looked enviously at Derek.
||S| She said, "He's going to be recommended
for--"
^.^ Derek said quicklyr"l%%^;"'''"''''!a* ^ "Shut up. Deb. "^^ISi ^y--.....- ....
Tommy said: * ^ ^M "Hullo, Derek, what have you been up to?"
"Oh, nothing much--sort of show all of us are
doing. Don't know why they pitched on me,"
murmured the young airman, his face scarlet. He
looked as embarrassed as though he had been ac_
cused of the most deadly of sins.
He got up and the fair-haired girl got up, too.
Derek said: ISft ^ a]
"Mustn't miss any of this--last night of my
leave."
1 "Come on, Charley," said Deborah. ^ ' The two of them floated away with their partners.

Tuppence prayed inwardly:
NORM?
233


"Oh, let thel" be safe--don't let anything happen
to them. . ."
She looked up to meet Tommy's eyes. He said,
"About that child--shall we?"
. "Betty? Oh. Tommy, I'm so glad you've
thought of it, too! I thought it was just me being
maternal. You really mean it?"
"That we should adopt her? Why not? She's
had a raw deal, and it wl^ be fun for us to have
something young growing up." ^^ ' "Oh, Tommy!" H
She stretched out her hand and squeezed his. "i They looked at each other.
i "We always do want the same things," said
I Tuppence happily-
Deborah, passing Derek on the floor,- murmured
to him: SS '^SQ '..J
: "Just look at those two--actually holding s£ hands! They're rather sweet, aren't they. We must
do all we can to make up to them for having such a
dull time in this war...."
ill