The Tightrope Men

Thirty-Two

Denison woke up because someone was shaking him. He moaned in protest and opened his eyes to see Diana bending over him. ‘Wake up — we’ve got a visitor.’

He sat up and rubbed bis eyes. ‘Who?’

‘Come and see.’

McCready was at the window, binoculars to his eyes. As Denison joined him he said, ‘It’s one of the characters from Kevo — not the Yanks, the other crowd.’

Denison saw the man walking along the edge of the marsh towards the hut. He was about four hundred yards away. ‘Alone?’

‘I haven’t seen anyone else,’ said McCready. ‘This boy has his nerve, I must say.’

‘Perhaps he doesn’t know we’re here.’

‘Then he’s a damned fool,’ said McCready. ‘And they don’t send fools on jobs like this. Diana, stand behind the door with your gun.’

The man tramped stolidly towards the hut. If it were not for his pack he would have looked like any holidaymaker on any beach. Within ten minutes he was within hailing distance and he put up his hands showing empty palms. Holding them up he came to a stop ten yards from the door and waited.

‘He knows we’re here,’ said McCready. He took a pistol from his pack and worked the action to put a round into the breech. He went to the door and held the pistol behind his back. ‘If he comes in you’ll be behind him,’ he said to Diana, and opened the door.

The man still had, his hands raised as McCready said, ‘What do you want?’

‘I want to talk to Dr Harold Meyrick.’ The man’s English was good but heavily accented. Denison tried to identify the accent but made nothing of it.

‘What if Dr Meyrick doesn’t want to talk to you?’

‘Why not let him make up his own mind?’ asked the man.

‘Whom shall I announce?’ asked McCready suavely.

‘Shall we say... Herr Schmidt?’

McCready had no trouble with the accent. ‘I’d prefer Pan Schmidt — and even then I don’t like it. Schmidt isn’t a Czech name.’

The man shrugged. ‘Many people in Czechoslovakia have German names.’ When McCready did not respond he said, ‘My arms are getting tired.’

‘You put them up, you pull them down — but not just yet.’ McCready made up his mind. ‘All right, Mr Smith; step into my parlour.’ He opened the door wide and stepped back. The man smiled as he came forward, his hands still high.

He walked into the hut and came to a dead stop four feet inside as McCready brought up the hand holding a gun. Diana closed the door behind him. ‘Search him,’ said McCready.

Schmidt half-turned and smiled as he saw the pistol in Diana’s hand. ‘So many guns,’ he said. ‘I am unarmed, of course.’

‘There’s no of course about it,’ said McCready as Diana checked. When she had finished and found nothing McCready wagged the gun. ‘Now take off your pack — slowly.’

Schmidt eased the pack from his shoulders and lowered it to the floor. ‘That’s better,’ he said, flexing his arms. ‘You people use guns too easily. That’s why I came with my hands up — I didn’t want to be shot by accident. Why did you shoot at me at Kevo?’

‘We didn’t,’ said McCready. ‘You ran into another crowd.’

‘You expect me to believe that?’

‘I don’t give a damn if you believe it or not — but you started a war with the United States. I was watching it — three of you against four Yanks. One of your chaps had a broken arm and an American had a bullet in his leg. I had a ringside seat on the other side of the river.’

‘So?’ said Schmidt. ‘The Americans also.’ He smiled pleasantly at Denison and then turned back to McCready. ‘What Dr Meyrick carries must be very important,’

‘And what is it to you?’

‘I’ve come to get it,’ said Schmidt composedly.

‘Just like that?’

‘Just like that, Mr McCready.’ He grinned. ‘You see that I know your name. In fact, I know the names of everyone here. Mrs Hansen, Dr Harding, Dr Meyrick and, of course, Miss Meyrick. It wasn’t hard.’

‘No doubt it wasn’t,’ said McCready. ‘But what makes you think that Dr Meyrick will give you anything?’

Schmidt looked Denison in the eye. ‘I should think he values the safety of his daughter. It is unwise to go treasure hunting while in possession of a greater treasure, Dr Meyrick.’

Denison glanced at Lyn, then cleared his throat. ‘But we have you, Mr Schmidt — if that’s your name.’

Schmidt smiled and shook his head. ‘I can see you’re no tactician, doctor. You see, I am no treasure. I am sure Mr McCready is ahead of you in his thinking.’

‘You’ve got the place surrounded, then?’ said McCready.

‘Of course. There are more than three of us this time.’ Schmidt looked at his watch. ‘The time is up in twenty-five — no, twenty-four — minutes.’

From the window Harding said, ‘He could be pulling a bluff. I’ve seen no one.’

‘The answer to that is easy,’ said Schmidt. ‘Call my bluff. I’m prepared to wait — if I can sit down.’ He took a very slow step sideways and hooked a chair forward with his foot, never taking his eyes off McCready’s pistol.

McCready leaned against the table. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘Tell me what Meyrick has that interests you Czechs so much.’

A pained look appeared on Schmidt’s face. ‘Don’t be stupid, McCready.’ He jerked his thumb at Denison. ‘He babbled about it in Stockholm. He discovered what was in his father’s papers and where they were, and he talked about it to some Swedish friends. You ought to know scientists can’t keep secrets. But then he realized exactly what he was talking about so he shut up and went back to England.’

He stopped. McCready’s face was blank. ‘Go on.’

‘Why?’ asked Schmidt. ‘You know the answers. By then it was too late; the secret was out. Nothing travels faster than the news of a scientific breakthrough. Scientists like to believe in what they call the community of ideas, so the news got around Sweden, to Germany and to Czechoslovakia.’

‘And to the United States,’ commented McCready.

Schmidt hunched his shoulders. ‘Everyone knows the reputation of old Merikken and everyone knows his history. The guess is that he put his papers somewhere for safe keeping. The way you’re behaving leads us to think he buried them — or had them buried — somewhere in northern Finland. So it’s a treasure hunt, as I said, and you’ve got a map with a cross on it. That or the equivalent.’ He straightened. ‘I want it.’

McCready slanted his eyes towards Denison. ‘You see what comes of talking too much.’ They were going to give in — that was the plan — but they must not collapse too easily because that would lead to suspicion. ‘Let’s be democratic,’ he said. ‘We’ll vote on it. Harding?’

‘I think he’s bluffing,’ said Harding flatly. ‘I don’t think there is anyone out there. Tell him to go to hell.’

Schmidt smiled but said nothing. McCready looked at Denison. ‘What about you, Meyrick? You know the importance of this more than anyone.’

‘I’m not the only one to be considered,’ said Denison. ‘Let him have what he wants.’

‘Very wise,’ said Schmidt.

‘Shut up,’ said McCready unemotionally. ‘Diana?’

‘I’m against.’

McCready turned his head. His face was away from Schmidt and he winked at Lyn. ‘What do you say?’

‘I vote with my father.’

McCready turned back to Schmidt. ‘It seems I have the casting vote — yours doesn’t count.’

‘It will.’ Schmidt nodded towards the window. ‘My votes are out there.’

‘I think you’re going to have to prove that,’ said McCready. ‘You might be bluffing and you might not, but I’m going to call you regardless.’

‘This is more dangerous than a game of poker.’

McCready smiled. ‘When you came in here you said you didn’t want to be shot by accident, so my guess is that if you do have a loaded vote outside you won’t use it too forcibly against this hut. You see, you’re inside it, too.’

‘It’s your guess,’ said Schmidt.

‘And it’s your life.’ McCready raised his pistol. ‘If one bullet comes into this hut you’re dead. If I don’t kill you Diana will. And there’s always Harding in reserve.’

Schmidt looked around at Diana who had a gun trained on him. He glanced at Harding who had also produced a pistol. His hand went to the pocket of his anorak. ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’

McCready said nothing. Schmidt shrugged and lit a cigarette. He blew a perfect smoke ring. There was a crackling silence in the hut that went on and on and on.