chapter 2 m. le marquis

the man with the white hair continued on his course unhurried, and seemingly indifferent to his surroundings. he took a side turning to the right and another one to the left. now and then he hummed a little air to himself.

suddenly he stopped dead and listened intently. he had heard a certain sound. it might have been the bursting of a tyre or it might have been - a shot. a curious smile played round his lips for a minute. then he resumed his leisurely walk.

on turning a corner he came upon a scene of some activity. a representative of the law was making notes in a pocket-book, and one or two late passers-by had collected on the spot. to one of these the man with the white hair made a polite request for information.

"something has been happening, yes?"

"mais oui, monsieur. two apaches set upon an elderly american gentleman."

"they did him no injury?"

"no, indeed." the man laughed. "the american, he had a revolver in his pocket, and before they could attack him, he fired shots so closely round them that they took alarm and fled. the police, as usual, arrived too late."

"ah!" said the inquirer.

he displayed no emotion of any kind. placidly and unconcernedly he resumed his nocturnal strolling. presently he crossed the seine and came into the richer areas of the city. it was some twenty minutes later that he came to a stop before a certain house in a quiet but aristocratic thoroughfare.

the shop, for shop it was, was a restrained and unpretentious one. d. papopolous, dealer in antiques, was so known to fame that he needed no advertisement, and indeed most of his business was not done over a counter.

m. papopolous had a very handsome apartment of his own overlooking the champs elysees, and it might reasonably be supposed that he would have been found there and not at his place of business at such an hour, but the man with the white hair seemed confident of success as he pressed the obscurely placed

bell, having first given a quick glance up and down the deserted street.

his confidence was not misplaced. the door opened and a man stood in the aperture. he wore gold rings in his ears and was of a swarthy cast of countenance.

"good evening," said the stranger. "your master is within?"

"the master is here, but he does not see chance visitors at this time of night," growled the other.

"i think he will see me. tell him that his friend m. le marquis is here."

the man opened the door a little wider and allowed the visitor to enter.

the man who gave his name as m. le marquis had shielded his face with his hand as he spoke. when the man-servant returned with the information that m. papopolous would be pleased to receive the visitor a further change had taken place in the stranger's appearance. the man-servant must have been very unobservant or very well trained for he betrayed no surprise at the small black satin mask which hid the other's features.

leading the way to a door at the end of the hall, he opened it and announced in a respectful murmur: "m. le marquis."

the figure which rose to receive this strange guest was an imposing one. there was something venerable and patriarchal about m. papopolous. he had a high domed forehead and a beautiful white beard. his manner had in it something

ecclesiastical and benign.

"my dear friend," said m. papopolous. he spoke in french and his tones were rich and unctuous.

"i must apologize," said the visitor, "for the lateness of the hour."

"not at all. not at all," said m. papopolous - "an interesting time of night. you have had, perhaps, an interesting evening?"

"not personally," said m. le marquis.

"not personally," repeated m. papopolous, "no, no, of course not. and there is news, eh?"

he cast a sharp glance sideways at the other, a glance that was not ecclesiastical or benign in the least.

"there is no news. the attempt failed. i hardly expected anything else."

"quite so," said m. papopolous, "anything crude -"

he waved his hand to express his intense distaste for crudity in any form. there was indeed nothing crude about m. papopolous nor about the goods he handled. he was well known in most european courts, and kings called him demetrius in a friendly manner. he had the reputation for the most exquisite discretion. that, together with the nobility of his aspect, had carried him through several very questionable transactions.

"the direct attack -" said m. papopolous. he shook his head. "it answers sometimes - but very seldom."

the other shrugged his shoulders.

"it saves time," he remarked, "and to fail costs nothing - or next to nothing. the other plan - will not fail."

"ah," said m. papopolous, looking at him keenly.

the other nodded slowly.

"i have great confidence in your - er - reputation," said the antique dealer.

m. le marquis smiled gently.

"i think i may say," he murmured, "that your confidence will not be misplaced."

"you have unique opportunities," said the other, with a note of envy in his voice.

"i make them," said m. le marquis.

he rose and took up the cloak which he had thrown carelessly on the back of a chair.

"i will keep you informed, m. papopolous, through the usual channels, but there must be no hitch in your arrangements."

m. papopolous was pained.

"there is never a hitch in my arrangements," he complained.

the other smiled, and without any further word of adieu he left the room, closing the door behind him.

m. papopolous remained in thought for a moment stroking his venerable white beard, and then moved across to a second door which opened inwards. as he turned the handle, a young woman, who only too clearly had been leaning against it with her ear to the keyhole, stumbled headlong into the room. m. papopolous

displayed neither surprise nor concern. it was evidently all quite natural to him.

"well, zia?" he asked.

"i did not hear him go," explained zia.

she was a handsome young woman, built on junoesque lines, with

dark flashing eyes and such a general air of resemblance to m. papopolous that it was easy to see they were father and daughter.

"it is annoying," she continued vexedly, "that one cannot see through a keyhole and hear through it at the same time."

"it has often annoyed me," said m. papopolous, with great simplicity.

"so that is m. le marquis," said zia slowly. "does he always wear a mask, father?"

"always."

there was a pause.

"it is the rubies, i suppose?" asked zia.

her father nodded.

"what do you think, my little one?" he inquired, with a hint of amusement in his beady black eyes.

"of m. le marquis?"

"yes."

"i think," said zia slowly, "that it is a very rare thing to find a well- bred englishman who speaks french as well as that."

"ah!" said m. papopolous, "so that is what you think."

as usual, he did not commit himself, but he regarded zia with benign approval.

"i thought, too," said zia, "that his head was an odd shape."

"massive," said her father - "a trifle massive. but then that effect is always created by a wig."

they both looked at each other and smiled.

第二章 侯爵先生

白发男人不慌不忙地只顾走路，周围的一切他全不放在心上。他跨进一个胡同，拐了一个弯便来来了另一条大街上，嘴里还哼着歌曲。

他突然收住了脚步，紧张地听着。他的到一种声响，这声响有点象轮胎放炮，又有点象枪声。他嘴角浮出了一丝少有的微笑，然后又继续走路。在街角上他看到了一个热闹的场面：有个警察在笔记本上记录着什么。白发男人也凑过去询问着与别人相同的问题。

“发生了什么事？”

“是这样，先生。两个恶棍袭击了一个美国人。”

“那个美国人受伤了吗？”

“看不出来。”回答白发男人的话的那个人淡淡一笑。“那个美国人的衣袋里有一只手枪。那两个恶棍还没来得及下手，美国人就开了枪。那两个家伙吓跑了。警察嘛，同往常一样，总是姗姗来迟。”

“原来如此。”白发男人说道。此事对他来说似乎无关紧要。

他泰然自若，依然赶路。过了塞纳河，在繁华市区的一条恬静的马路上他停住了脚步，身旁是一家商店。

这家平平常常的商店并不引人注意。它的主人帕波波鲁斯博士是个极其有名望的古玩商人，以致并不需要什么广告招揽生意。他的生意也很少在商店的柜台上成交。

帕波波鲁斯在香榭丽舍大街有一幢豪华的住宅，人们在夜晚到那里去找他，比到他的商店里找他好得多。但是白发男人还声称没有什么人跟踪他。

看门人听了白发男人的话就放了心，打开了门，但只打开一道缝。是一个手上戴着金戒指的胖男人给白发男人打开的门。

“晚上好！”白发男人说，“大师在家吗？”

“大师在家。可是这个时候他不见任何人。”胖男人说道。

“他应该见我。您对他说，是侯爵来了。”

胖子把门开大了一点，请他进来。

白发男人在说话的时候用手捂着脸。这位胖男人，也就是博士的仆人，回来时告诉他说，帕波波鲁斯先生很高兴接见他。这时，这位自称侯爵的人表情显得很轻松。

仆人注意到来方者的脸上罩着黑绸面纱，他把白发男人引到前厅，开了门，有礼貌地说道：侯爵先生到。

帕波波鲁斯看来真是令人肃然起敬。他有着宽大的额头，一把很好看的胡须，好象是父系社会主持祭祀的长老一样。

“欢迎您，亲爱的朋友！”这是他通常的客套话。

“请原谅！”来访者说，“这么晚了还来打扰您。”

“说那里话。对做买卖来说没有什么晚不晚的。您一定度过了一个很有意思的夜晚。”

“对我个人来说并不是这样。”

“当然并不是对个人了。您是不是有什么事要对我说？”

他偷偷地扫视来访者一眼，但他对来访者的态度神秘而温和。

“没有什么值得向您报告的。袭击失败了，除此之外我想不出其它办法。”

“不出所料，完全是粗暴的武力解决……”

帕波波鲁斯做了一个手势，表示他对任何形式的、赤裸裸的武力解决的轻蔑。事实上，同帕波波鲁斯交往也好，做生意也好，都不能采取强硬的手段。他是个有名望有欧洲贵族阶层的人物，国王们都友好地称他是“神农氏”。他的声望同他的谨慎是联系在一起的。他的这种声望使他轻而易举地解决了许多特别麻烦的事件。

“直接的进攻，有时可能成功，但希望很小。”古玩商摇着头说道。

侯爵耸耸肩膀。

“直接行动，”他说，“节省时间，几乎不用什么代价。我还有一个计划──绝不会失败。”

帕波波鲁斯点了一下头，陷入了沉思。

“我对您完全相信，您有很好的声望。”

侯爵先生诌媚地一笑。

“请允许我向您保证，”他喃喃地说，“我一定不辜负您的信赖。”

“您现在只有这一桩独一无二的交易。”古玩商人说道，声音里充满了信任之情。

“我一定完成。”

侯爵先生穿上大衣。

“我同往常一样同您保持联系，我提醒您：别忘了我们的协定。”

“我从来也不忘记自己的任何一项协定。”古玩商人现出不满的神色。

来访者淡淡一笑，离开了房间，不辞而别。

帕波波鲁斯伸手摸了一下胡须，随即转到另外一扇门前。当他拉开房门时，一个年轻的女郎突然跌倒在门口。看来她是在偷听他们的谈话。帕波波鲁斯现出惊讶的神色。

“齐娅，是你？”他脱口问道。

“我都听到了，一句不漏。”她说道。

她是一个年轻貌美的女郎，有一双亮晶晶的黑眼睛，高高的个子。她同帕波波鲁斯长得是那样的相象，以致没有人会怀疑不是他的女儿。

“很可惜，”她仿佛现出了几分恼怒，“从这个钥匙孔里不能听看兼顾。”

“这确实是个令人头痛的事实。”父亲庄重地说道。

“他是侯爵先生？”齐娅慢悠悠地说，“他一直戴着面纱吗？爸爸！”

“是的。”

“是关于宝石的事吧，爸爸，是吗？”齐娅问道。

古玩商人点了点头。

“你觉得他怎么样，孩子。”

“您是说侯爵先生吗？”

“当然啦！”

“依我看，”齐娅慢悠悠地说，“很难找到一个地地道道的英国人象他那样讲一口流利的法语。”

“噢，你是这样想的。”

他没说出自己的看法，但是他向女儿投以肯定的目光。

“还有，他的脑袋好象有些畸形。”齐娅说道。

“这是很明显的，”父亲说，“特别明显。可是，只要有人戴上假面具，人们总是会产生这种感觉的。”

父女俩会心地一笑。