“It sounded convincing. I may say that he was prepared to allow Señora Gallindo to make up the party if I liked to take her along.”
Mr. Kuvetli leered: a scurfy faun in a flannel night-shirt. “And did you tell Señora Gallindo that?”
Graham flushed. “She knows nothing of Moeller. I told her about Banat. I’m afraid I gave myself away last night when Banat came into the saloon. She asked me what was wrong and I told her. Anyway,” he added defensively but none too truthfully, “I needed her help. It was she who arranged to keep Banat occupied while I searched his cabin.”
“By arranging for the good José to play cards with him? Quite so. As to the suggestion that she should accompany you, I think that, if you had accepted it, it would have been withdrawn. It would, no doubt, be explained that difficulties had arisen. Does José know of this business?”
“No. I don’t think that she would tell him. She’s trustworthy, I think,” he added with as much nonchalance as he could muster.
“No woman is trustworthy,” gloated Mr. Kuvetli. “But I do not begrudge you your amusements, Monsieur Graham.” He moistened his upper lip with the tip of his tongue and grinned. “Señora Gallindo is very attractive.”
Graham checked the retort that rose to his lips. “Very,” he said tersely. “Meanwhile we have reached the conclusion that I shall be killed if I accept Moeller’s proposal and killed if I don’t.” And then he lost control of himself. “For God’s sake, Kuvetli,” he burst out in English, “do you think it’s pleasant for me to sit here listening to you telling me how easy it would be for these lice to kill me! What am I going to do?”
Mr. Kuvetli patted his knee consolingly. “My dear friend, I understand perfectly. I was merely showing you that it would be impossible for you to land in the ordinary way.”
“But what other way can I land? I’m not invisible.”
“I will tell you,” said Mr. Kuvetli complacently. “It is very simple. You see, although this ship does not actually reach the quayside for the landing of passengers until nine o’clock on Saturday morning, she arrives off Genoa in the early hours, at about four o’clock. Night pilotage is expensive; accordingly, although she takes on a pilot as soon as it begins to get light, she does not move in until sunrise. The pilot boat …”
“If you’re suggesting that I leave by the pilot boat, it’s impossible.”
“For you, yes. For me, no. I am privileged. I have a diplomatic laisser passer.” He patted his jacket pocket. “By eight o’clock I can be at the Turkish Consulate. Arrangements can then be made for getting you away safely and taking you to the airport. The international train service is not as good as it used to be, and the Paris train does not leave until two o’clock in the afternoon. It is better that you do not remain so long in Genoa. We will charter a plane to take you to Paris immediately.”
Graham’s heart began to beat faster. An extraordinary feeling of lightness and ease came over him. He wanted to laugh. He said stolidly: “It sounds all right.”
“It will be all right, but precautions must be taken to see that it is so. If Monsieur Moeller suspects that there is a chance of your escaping, something unpleasant will happen. Listen carefully, please.” He scratched his chest and then held up a forefinger. “First; you must go to Monsieur Moeller to-morrow and tell him that you agree to his suggestion that you should stay in Santa Margherita.”
“What!”
“It is the best way to keep him quiet. I leave you to choose your own opportunity. But I will suggest the following: it is possible that he will approach you again, and so perhaps it will be best if you give him time to do so. Wait until late in the evening. If he has not approached you by then, go to him. Do not appear to be too ingenuous, but agree to do what he wants. When you have done that, go to your cabin, lock the door, and remain there. Do not leave your cabin under any circumstances until eight o’clock the following morning. It might be dangerous.
“Now comes the important part of your instructions. At eight o’clock in the morning you must be ready with your baggage. Call the steward, tip him, and tell him to put your baggage in the Customs shed. There must be no mistake at this point. What you have to do is to remain on the ship until I come to tell you that the preparations have been made and that it is safe for you to land. There are difficulties. If you remain in your cabin the steward will make you go ashore with the rest, including Monsieur Moeller and Banat. If you go on deck, the same thing will happen. You must see that you are not forced to go ashore before it is safe for you to do so.”
“But how?”
“I am explaining that. What you must do is to leave your cabin and then, taking care that nobody sees you, to go into the nearest unoccupied cabin. You have cabin number five. Go into cabin number four. That is the next cabin to this. Wait there. You will be quite safe. You will have tipped the steward. If he thinks of you again at all it will be to assume that you have gone ashore. If he is asked about you he will certainly not look in unoccupied cabins. Monsieur Moeller and Banat will naturally be looking for you. You will have agreed to go with them. But they will have to go ashore to wait. By that time we shall be there and able to act.”
“Act?”
Mr. Kuvetli smiled grimly. “We shall have two men for every one of theirs. I do not think that they will try to stop us. Are you quite clear about what you have to do?”
“Quite clear.”
“There is a small matter. Monsieur Moeller will ask you if I have made myself known to you. You will, of course, say yes. He will ask you what I said. You will tell him that I offered to escort you to Paris myself and that when you insisted on going to the British Consul, I threatened you.”
“Threatened me!”
“Yes.” Mr. Kuvetli was still smiling, but his eyes had narrowed a little. “If your attitude towards me had been different it might have been necessary for me to threaten you.”
“What with?” Graham demanded spitefully. “Death? That would have been absurd, wouldn’t it?”
Mr. Kuvetli smiled steadily. “No, Monsieur Graham, not death but with the accusation that you had accepted bribes from an enemy agent to sabotage Turkish naval preparations. You see, Monsieur Graham, it is just as important for me that you return to England without delay as it is for Monsieur Moeller that you should not return.”
Graham stared at him. “I see. And this is a gentle reminder that the threat still stands if I should allow myself to be persuaded that Moeller’s proposal is, after all, acceptable. Is that it?”
His tone was deliberately offensive. Mr. Kuvetli drew himself up. “I am a Turk, Monsieur Graham,” he said with dignity, “and I love my country. I fought with the Gazi for Turkey’s freedom. Can you imagine that I would let one man endanger the great work we have done? I am ready to give my life for Turkey. Is it strange that I should not hesitate to do less unpleasant things?”
He had struck an attitude. He was ridiculous and yet, for the very reason that his words were at so odd a variance with his appearance, impressive. Graham was disarmed. He grinned. “Not at all strange. You need have no fears. I shall do exactly what you have told me to do. But supposing he wants to know when our meeting took place?”
“You will tell the truth. It is just possible that you were seen to come to my cabin. You can say that I asked you to do so, that I left a note in your cabin. Remember, too, that we must not be seen in private conversation after this. It will be better if we do not have any sort of conversation. In any case there is nothing more to be said. Everything is arranged. There is only one other matter to be considered-Señora Gallindo.”
“What about her?”
“She has part of your confidence. What is her attitude?”
“She thinks that everything is all right now.” He reddened. “I said that I would travel with her to Paris.”