Otto assured him that he had long since had ample opportunity to study the behavior of senior German
officers and Abwehr officials. He felt sure he could put on a flawless performance. He gave a brief demonstration of his skill then and there; whereupon Colonel Count von Gleicher first wrinkled his brow, then, on second thought, gave a faint smile and deigned to declare himself satisfied.
28
Austin arrived at Mrs. Morvan’s grocery just as it was getting dark. Claire was waiting for him there. He had not gotten in touch with her earlier for fear of rousing Arvers’ suspicions. Since the meeting with the Germans was to take place that evening, Arvers had asked Claire to spend the night at her mother’s place so as to leave the villa free for him, as he had some confidential business to attend to there.
She showed Austin into the back parlor, where the old woman came and joined them after closing the shutters, and gave him a faithful account of the telephone conversation.
“It's all quite clear to me now,” she concluded.
“What I overheard in the garden was part of the tape recording referring to the Lachaume farm affair. It’s conclusive proof of his treachery and of my brother’s innocence. The Germans have him in their clutches and are using him to lead you into a trap.”
Austin was overwhelmed by this precise report and by the details in her notebook. It was a strange story, but probably true. It was difficult to attribute this long and graphic conversation to an hallucination. He questioned her closely again, then turned toward her mother, who had not yet said a word. He knew she had a domineering personality. With him, she generally assumed an air of indifference, as though all this business meant nothing to her. This evening, however, he detected a trace of anxiety in her expression; she seemed to be studying his reactions. And he needed only this fleeting glint in her eyes to remind him that she was Morvan’s mother; her usual attitude tended to make him forget it.
He began to wonder if the two women, far from being slightly unbalanced, had not deliberately invented the whole story to redeem the memory of the deceased, no matter what the consequences. Such a disregard for justice in the cause of a deep devotion made him shudder, but considering the old woman's obdurate expression and Claire’s blazing eyes, this monstrous supposition did not seem entirely impossible. He eventually dismissed it from his mind, reproaching himself for seeing nothing but treachery and lies ever since he had become Dr. Fog’s assistant.
“This meeting is a trap,” Claire insisted. “What Gleicher said proves that he still regards us as mortal enemies.”
/> Austin read through her notes again, paused for a moment to think, then said with authority:
“I’d like to watch them without their knowing it. I’ve got to see for myself what sort of attitude they adopt. Can that be arranged?”
“We could get right up to the villa if we approached it through the wood . . . and even slip into the garden without anybody noticing. There’s an old ruined tower in one corner, from which you can keep a lookout in all directions. It's a perfect hiding place.”
It was clear she had already used this observation post. He wasted no time on further questions and fell in with her plan. They decided to leave at once so as to arrive well before the meeting and thus avoid any possible trap. Without a trace of emotion, the old woman
wished them good luck and watched them in silence as they vanished into the dark. It was not until she had carefully locked up for the night that she mumbled a
few indistinct words in a menacing tone, almost without unclenching her teeth.
Austin followed Claire quietly. He had decided to rely on her entirely until he could form his own opinion. As soon as they were outside the village she led the way across some open fields, then through a rather heavily wooded area where the cold made him shiver. He shook off the anxieties that were preying on his mind to devote himself to the more urgent business of
trying to avoid revealing their presence. She walked straight ahead without hesitation, although it was pitch dark. On two occasions, when he put his hand on her shoulder so as not lose touch with her, he noticed she was feverishly hot.
She slackened her pace, came to a halt behind a thicket, and whispered in his ear:
“This is the place.”
They were almost at the front gate, which had been left half open. After listening for a moment or two, Claire gave a sign for him to follow her. They crossed a path, slipped into the garden, crept along the fence, and entered a sort of tower that must have served at one
time as a pigeon loft. This was her hiding place. It had a ladder that gave access to the roof. They climbed up and made themselves as comfortable as possible so as to be able to wait for a long time without shifting their positions.
A crescent moon was beginning to shed its light over the wood. At the end of the garden, the white front of the villa stood out clearly against the trees. Thanks to a passing cloud, Austin was able to make out a faint glimmer behind the shutters of the living room. He tried to visualize Arvers waiting there for his visitors.
The wood all around them appeared to be deserted. After peering into the dark patch of each thicket, he could see nothing to rouse his suspicions. Claire pointed out Gleicher’s villa, some fifty yards farther on. In that direction, too, everything seemed quite peaceful. They had arrived well ahead of time. They waited like this for almost two hours, on the alert for the slightest sound, but without detecting anything to justify their caution.
Suddenly she touched his shoulder, but he, too, had seen it—a rectangle of light in front of Gleicher’s villa. Two silhouettes were visible for an instant; then the door closed behind them without a sound.
“Only two of them, as agreed,” Austin whispered. She made no reply. After a minute or two the figures reappeared on the path and passed immediately below them. Claire pointed out Gleicher: she had recognized him by his limp, although his face was partly hidden in a scarf. He had always been sensitive to cold and dreaded the damp at night.
They stopped in front of the gate, scrutinized the house and the immediate surroundings for some time, then entered the garden. Austin, who was observant by nature and whose every sense was quickened, noticed that Gleicher’s companion stood aside to let him pass through. He also observed that Gleicher made a gesture of impatience and muttered something under his breath, whereupon Otto hurried in ahead of him. This little scene, on the face of it insignificant, started off a train of thought in Austin's mind; but for the moment he did not follow it to its logical conclusion, so eager was he not to miss a single detail of the next act.
Arvers must have been on the lookout, for he opened the front door before the Germans even had time to knock, and came out to meet them. For a moment he stood in full light, and Austin was struck by the change in his appearance.
"He hasn’t arrived yet.”
"Yet we’ve taken the trouble to be here on time,”