The Five Arrows

  _Chapter twelve_

  Hall slept through the morning. He rose at noon, staggered into a coldtub, and then ordered a breakfast of steak and eggs. Vicente wheeled thetable into the room.

  "I have been thinking of the major's offer," Hall said. "There'ssomething you can do for me. Do you know anything about the Marques deRuna?"

  "Yes. He's a Falangist. His family owns one of the biggest import andexport companies in the country. The young one works there, too."

  "What is he up to now?"

  "Perhaps we can find out."

  "Good. Do you know anything about his chauffeur?"

  "No. But we can find out."

  "Do you mind if I ask Pepe Delgado to check up too?"

  "Not at all, _companero_. He is very reliable."

  * * * * *

  San Hermano had settled back to her old routines when Hall left hisroom. The trolleys ran, cars moved along all the streets, the loudspeakers on the poles and buildings had been taken down, and streetsweepers were groaning over the litter of signs and papers theythemselves had helped scatter over the whole city the day before.Yesterday's crowds had gone back to their jobs, their homes, their ownquarters.

  The papers had little news about Tabio's condition. They carried hisspeech and, in most cases, described the events which had followedTabio's speech as a spontaneous demonstration on the part of the people._El Imparcial_ merely said that a great crowd had heard the speech overthe public amplifiers and that Red hoodlums had severely beaten someanti-communists who had joined the crowd in the Plaza to listen to theaddress of the President.

  Hall scanned the papers at a cafe table in Old San Hermano while Pepewent to telephone some friends who were doing some further checking onthe Marques de Runa. The information Pepe received over the telephonewas very brief. At six o'clock that morning, the Marques de Runa and hischauffeur had taken a plane for Natal from the San Hermano airport.

  "Wait for me in the car." Hall went to a phone himself, called MargaretSkidmore.

  "Hi, Pirate," she said. "Getting lonesome for the farm?"

  "Sure. How about you?"

  "I can't get away this week," she said. "How about the week-end?"

  "I'll have to let you know tomorrow. Tell me, Margaret, how well do youknow the Marques de Runa?"

  "Very well. Why?"

  "Oh, nothing much. I left my notebook in his car last night, I think."

  "I know. He told me."

  "About the notebook?"

  "No. About your red-headed girl friend. She sounds like a goodsubstitute for farming."

  "Cut it out," Hall laughed.

  "Is she the gal you were dreaming about at the wrong time one day lastweek?"

  "No. But about my notebook. It's not too important, but I had someinteresting things in it, Margaret. I was wondering how to reach theMarques."

  "It would be impossible today," she said. "He just left for Barcelona ona business trip."

  "Is he a good friend of yours?"

  "Freddie? He's my fiance."

  "You're kidding!"

  "No. I'm to be the Marquesa de Runa. Didn't you know?"

  "Does anyone else know it?"

  "Yes," she said. "He does. Now don't start cross-examining me aboutthat! It's my affair."

  "I won't. You always know what you're doing."

  "Thanks. I feel like doing some plowing over the week-end. With you.Let's talk about it then, if it still interests you. And in themeanwhile, I'll have someone look through the car for your notebook."

  "Thanks a lot."

  Hall went to the car. "Let's go back to the hotel," he said, "and findSouza. Or is the day clerk reliable?"

  "Don't worry," Pepe said. "Arturo can be trusted. That's why Souza gothim the job."

  "We have a lot to do, Pepe. I want to search the room of the Dutchman,Androtten. We'll need all the help we can get."

  They found the task very simple. Androtten had left that morning with asmall handbag on what he described to the clerk as a two-day buying tripin the south. With the day clerk standing guard at the phone and Vicentelounging in the hall to sound any needed alarm, Hall and Pepe enteredthe Dutchman's room with a pass key and drew the blinds.

  There was a picture of Androtten and what was evidently his family in aportable leather frame on the bureau. It showed Androtten and a fatblond matron sitting at a table, with a youth in his teens atAndrotten's left and a little girl leaning at the woman's knee. "He's afamily man," Pepe said.

  "We'll see." Hall went through the wastebasket, the clothes hanging inthe closet, every drawer in the bureau. He examined every piece ofluggage for false sides and bottoms, hidden compartments, and straypapers. In the traveling bag he found in the closet, Hall discovered aheavy brown envelope. Inside was the picture of a young colonialNetherlands officer and a letter from the Dutch Government-in-Exile. Theletter regretted to inform Androtten that his esteemed son, LieutenantWilhelm Androtten II, had perished fighting the Nazi invaders in thebattle for the Lowlands, and had been posthumously awarded the secondhighest decoration the Queen gave such heroes. Hall had to guess at thecontents of the letter, using his German as a basis for deciphering theDutch.

  "Does this look like that boy grown up?" he asked Pepe.

  "I think so, Mateo. What does the letter say?"

  Hall gave him the gist of the letter as he understood it. "But I stillthink he's a fraud, Pepe. Let's examine the labels on his clothesagain."

  The labels revealed only what Androtten had already indicated. London,Amsterdam, New Orleans, Rio. He had purchased no clothes in San Hermano.

  "Let's get out of here, Pepe."

  "Where are you going now?"

  "I've got to write a letter in my room. But wait for me. I think we'regoing to visit Duarte when I've got the letter finished."

  His own room, he soon discovered, had also been searched that day. Thelock on his traveling bag had been picked, and the stethoscope wasmissing. He flung the new straw hat in the closet and went to the lobby.Pepe was talking to the day clerk. He grinned at Hall, asked, "So soon?"

  "I changed my mind." Then, to the clerk, "Where is Miss Olmstead? At theUniversity laboratory?"

  "No, senor. She went to the country with the two doctors."

  "Do you know where exactly?"

  "No. Only that she went to the country. They will not be back tonight.They left an hour ago."

  "Come on, Pepe. We have to get started."

  They sat down in the car. "First stop the Mexican Embassy," Hall said."But wait there for me. I won't be too long."

  "What happened?"

  "My room was searched. The stethoscope is missing."

  "That means trouble, Mateo."

  "Sure. It also means that someone was careless. Where the hell wereArturo and Vicente?"

  "It's a big hotel, Mateo. We were talking about it only this morning.Duarte wants you to stay with him in his house for the night."

  "What do you think about it?"

  "Duarte is right."

  "But I have a good gun, Pepe. And good friends."

  "I know that, Mateo. But stay with Duarte tonight. I think that tonightsomeone else should sleep in your bed. Duarte suggested three pillows ora log. Then, in the morning, if there are no bullet holes in thepillows ..."

  "Or the log ..."

  "... or the log, then you can say it was a mistake to sleep at Duarte'shouse tonight. Someone followed me this morning, Mateo. I drove himcrazy, but I couldn't get a look at him myself. It was very funny. Butit is also serious."

  Hall put the gun back in his pocket. "Maybe it is," he said. "I'll staywith Duarte."

  "It is the right thing to do, Mateo. I'll leave you with Duarte. I haveto see Souza and some other friends tonight."

  Pepe waited at the curb until Hall was admitted to the Mexican Embassy.Then, his eyes sweeping the streets for signs of anyone shadowing him onfoot or by automobile, he took the most roundabout route he could deviseto reach the Transport Workers
' Union headquarters.

  Duarte had had no word from General Mogrado. "I'm sure he met thecourier," he told Hall. "But I'm worried by his silence. It is not likehim."

  "Give him another night, Felipe. In the meanwhile, I'll send anotherletter to Havana. I just can't believe that the evidence on Ansaldo isnot available on this side of the ocean. If it's nowhere else, it mustbe in Havana."

  "Why are you so sure?"

  "Because I know Havana. I know what the Spanish Republicans and thesecret police must have there. I tell you, Felipe, we can hang Ansaldoin Havana. Do you remember where and how I first saw Ansaldo in Burgos?Well, there was a photographer standing and working in front of me forhours that day. I know who he was, Felipe. He was the man from _Arriba_.I don't doubt but that either the Spaniards or the Cubans have acomplete file of _Arriba_ in Havana. And I'm willing to bet my bottomdollar that I'll find those pictures of Ansaldo in that file."

  "I hope so, Mateo. But I hope you don't have to go. Are you very tired?"

  "I could stand an hour's sleep before dinner."

  "We'll go to the house. Dr. Gonzales might join us for dinner. AndLavandero is going to try to join us after dinner."

  They went to Duarte's house in one of the Embassy's cars. Hall stretchedout on the couch under the mural of Madrid and fell asleep in a fewminutes. It was some while before he was rested enough to dream, andthen the figures in the mural above the couch began to move through hissleep in a macabre procession.

  Duarte woke him in an hour. "Twice you yelled in your sleep," he said."And then you started to twist like a chained snake. Bad dreams, Mateo?"

  "I guess so," Hall said, his fingers working the muscles at the back ofhis neck. "I always dream about the bombardments when I feel bad."

  "Gonzales and Lavandero can't meet us tonight. They're both at thePresidencia. I think Tabio is getting weaker."

  "Is that what they told you?"

  "No. They just said they couldn't meet us."

  "Too bad. What have you got cooking?"

  "I don't know, _amigo_. I hired a new cook and she won't allow me to putmy face in the kitchen."

  "She must be a smart cook."

  "We'll find out in a few minutes. I forgot to tell you, but Gonzales hadsome news for us tonight. He says that Gamburdo is planning to delay theactual start of Congress for another week. His game is to allow thepresent high feelings of the people to cool down a bit before theCongress starts its business."

  Hall was puzzled. "I don't quite understand the maneuver," he said.

  "The Congress has to choose a delegation for the Inter-American parley,and to compose its mandate. Gamburdo still wants a delegation committedto neutrality."

  "Can he get away with it?"

  "Who knows? He was a long way toward success when Don Anibal stoppedhim. The real question is how long can Don Anibal be counted on to getout of bed and fight for an anti-fascist war policy?"

  A soft rain had started to fall while Hall was sleeping. It splashedgently against the open shutters of the cottage, embracing the house,the palms and the papaya trees on the grounds, its soft rhythms throwingHall into a small boy's melancholy. He talked little during dinner, andwhen he did, it was to subject Duarte to his reminiscences of rainy dayswhen he was very young.

  They swapped yarns for hours, listened to Duarte's endless collection ofMexican and flamenco records, and killed a bottle of black rum.

  "I'm going to sleep until noon," Hall said when they quit for the night.

  But his sleep was cut short very early in the morning by Pepe, whoarrived with the news that Jerry had returned from the country late atnight and was trying desperately to contact Hall.

  He phoned her at once.

  "Matt," she said, "can you come over right away? I think that I owe youan apology."

  Jerry was waiting for him in her room. She had not had any sleep for afull night, and her eyes showed it. Hall noticed that the two ash traysin the room were filled to the rims with fresh cigarette stumps.

  "What's up?" he asked.

  "I'm out of cigarettes. Have you got any?"

  "Only Cubans. They're very strong."

  She accepted one, choked a bit on the first puff, then continuedsmoking.

  "Give," he said. "What happened?"

  "You were right, I think. I can't swear to it, but I'm sure I recognizedhis voice. The little Dutchman, I mean."

  "Androtten?"

  She nodded. "He was at the ranch. I'm certain of it."

  "Wait a minute, baby. Sit down. Relax. Now start from the beginning.What ranch?"

  "Oh, I thought you knew. I went to Gamburdo's brother's ranch withAnsaldo and Marina. Doctor was ripping mad. There was entirely too muchinterference in the Tabio case, he said, and he'd called for a showdown.He said he was going to stay on the ranch for a few days, or at leastuntil the politicians who were interfering with him would come to theirsenses. He said we'd all just take a holiday until we could go back towork."

  "Who else was at the ranch?"

  "Gamburdo's brother, two men I've never seen before, and our hostess."

  "Were you introduced to the two men?"

  "No, that's just it. They were not there when we arrived. They came onhorseback after we'd been there for some hours. Senora Gamburdo saidthey were merely neighbors who wanted to talk over a cattle deal withher husband."

  "And what makes you think she was lying?"

  "I can't say, exactly, Matt. I didn't like the way she explained them tome--it was as if she felt that I insisted upon an explanation. That waswhen I decided to tell Ansaldo that I wanted to come back to town thismorning. I told him there was some shopping I'd neglected. He didn'tseem to object at the time."

  "When did Androtten arrive?"

  "I don't know. I told you--I didn't see him. I just heard his voice. Itwas about five in the afternoon, I'd say. I was taking a dip in thepool--alone. There was a puppy playing around the pool. He found one ofmy red beach shoes and started to chew on it. Then he took the shoe inhis mouth and carried it over to the side of the house and left it neara hedge.

  "It was when I went for the shoe that I heard Androtten. Some sort of aconference was going on in the room above the spot where the pooch haddropped my shoe. I recognized the voices of Ansaldo and Marina and thetwo others. But most of the talking was being done by a new voice. Ithought I recognized it. Then he stopped speaking Spanish and switchedto German. I'm sure it was German."

  "What was he saying?"

  "I couldn't make it out. But he was very angry."

  "And it was Androtten?"

  "Definitely."

  "Could you see into the room?"

  "No. I didn't try, anyway. I was afraid. I just picked up my shoe andbeat it."

  Hall hesitated. He gave Jerry a fresh cigarette, lit it for her. "Couldthey have seen you?" he asked.

  She shook her head. "But that's not the end of it," she said. "Afterdinner, Ansaldo took me for a walk in the garden. He made a lot of smalltalk about different cases. Then he asked me why I insisted uponreturning to town. I told him again that I wanted to buy some things totake home for friends. He was very pleasant about it. He asked me,half-seriously, if the real reason I wanted to go back was because I hada date with you. He was acting the part of a jealous lover when he saidit."

  "Acting?"

  "I'm sure he was only acting. Because when he said that I just laughedand said, 'Good heavens, no, doctor! The last time I saw Hall he said hewas going to make a small fortune writing the story of that littleDutchman's experience with the Japs, and my guess is that he'll bespending the next few days locked up in his room with the Dutchman.'

  "Ansaldo stopped dead in his tracks when I said that, Matt. He asked mewhich Dutchman I mean--but only after he had caught his breath."

  "What did he say when you told him you meant Androtten?"

  "Nothing much. He made a joke--a bad one--about Flying Dutchmen. Andthen he continued talking about medical cases."

  "And that was the l
ast you saw of him?"

  "Just about. My train left at five-thirty this morning. He was asleepwhen I left."

  "Who drove you to the station?"

  "Marina and a ranch hand. Marina was glad to see me go. He hates to seeme around Ansaldo."

  "Why? Is Ansaldo also a fairy?"

  "God, no!" Jerry laughed. "He's anything but."

  "You're exhausted. Let me get you some breakfast," he said. "And then,when you catch your second wind, maybe you'll remember some otherdetails."

  "I'm sure I've told you everything, Matt."

  He picked up the phone, asked for Vicente. "Ham and eggs?" he askedJerry.

  "No. Just coffee and toast."

  Hall gave Vicente the order. "And one other thing," he told the waiter."The woman is in trouble. Some one will have to keep an eye on hertoday. And let me know when the fat little foreigner on this floorreturns to town. He is a dangerous enemy."

  "All those words for coffee and toast?" Jerry asked. "I've learned a fewwords, Matt. I know that _mujer_ is woman."

  "Good for you. I was asking him about his wife. She's been ill."

  "Oh." Jerry relaxed in her chair. "Tell me, Matt. What was it all aboutat the ranch? There was something wrong there. I know. Why shouldAnsaldo have wanted me around? And who is Androtten?"

  "That's a big order, baby. There's only one thing I definitely knowabout it. I know that Ansaldo is a hot shot in the Falange. I know thattwo Falange agents arrived in San Hermano on board a Spanish ship theother day, and that they were traced to the ranch. But I can only guessthat the two neighboring _estancieros_ you saw were these two visitingFalange agents."

  "And Androtten?"

  "Again I'm guessing. I know that a Nazi general named Wilhelm von Faupelis the man who actually runs the Falange. I know something about the waythe Nazis work. O.K. So I assume that Androtten--if it really wasAndrotten whose voice you heard--is a Gestapo agent. That would makesense. Hitler orders Tabio's death; the job is handed to Hitler'sFalange, and a Gestapo officer tags along to run the show in San Hermanoas his comrades run it in Spain. It would all make sense if we couldprove that the two visiting _estancieros_ were the Falange agents offthe _Marques de Avillar_, and that Androtten was the man you heard."

  "Then why should they have wanted me around?" Jerry asked.

  There was a gentle rap on the door. "Time out for coffee," Hall smiled."_Entrada!_"

  The door was unlocked. The handle turned, and Wilhelm Androtten entered.He took off his small Panama hat, fanned his red, puffy face with it."Ah," he sighed, "they told me at the desk that I would find you here,Mr. Hall. Hot as hell, isn't it?" He put a large coffee canister on thearm of a chair. "May I sit down?" he asked.

  "Of course." Hall glanced at Jerry, whose fingers were clenched tightlyon a large amber comb. "What can I do for you?"

  Androtten put the canister on his lap. "Oh, my dear Mr. Hall," hesighed, his pudgy right hand resting on the lid of his tin. "I justwanted to tell you that I am leaving for Rio on an extended buying triptomorrow. If you still are interested in my damn story, perhaps youcould spare me some time this afternoon, eh?"

  "I think it could be managed," Hall smiled. "Did you buy all the damnMonte Azul bean you wanted, sir?"

  "Oh, yes. Oh, yes indeed, Mr. Hall. Fine, rich, full-bodied bean,fragrant as hell. Please, I'll show you." Androtten opened the canister.There was no coffee under the lid. Instead, there was a small automaticpistol, equipped with a gleaming silencer.

  "Please," Androtten sighed, "no noise, please. I should hate to beforced to shoot you both."

  Jerry stifled a muted cry. "You wouldn't dare," Hall said.

  "You are a fool, Hall. I hope you have already noticed that my gun isequipped with the only silencer in this jungle of Indians andblackamoors."

  "The Gestapo--you Nazis think of everything, don't you?" Hall said in arising voice.

  "I must remind you again not to shout, Hall. Please, lock your hands ontop of your head."

  Hall obeyed the order.

  "If the nurse co-operates, she will be spared."

  "For God's sake, Jerry, do anything the Nazi orders," Hall cried. "Hehas a gun!"

  The little man with the gun angrily raised a finger to his lips. "Notone word out of you," he whispered. He got out of the chair, startedbacking toward the door. "Now," he said, "listen carefully, both of you.For your information, Hall, I am not Gestapo. I am from theIbero-American Institute in Berlin. And that, I am afraid, is the lastinformation you will ever receive about anything, Hall."

  The comb in Jerry's hand snapped with a dry little crack. The suddennoise startled Androtten. He raised the gun and fired just as Hall dovefor his feet. Three times the cough of a silenced gun sounded in theroom. The shots seemed to come all together. A split second after thethird shot was fired Hall had kicked the gun from the limp hand of theNazi and was sitting astride his chest with his hands locked onAndrotten's throat. He was oblivious to the noise at the balcony, toJerry, to everything but the man dying under him.

  A gentle hand tugged at Hall's shoulder. "Enough, Mateo. The _cabron_ isdead."

  Emilio Vicente had climbed into the room from the balcony. He had apistol in his hand. "The woman," he said. "She has fainted."

  Jerry was lying in a heap on the floor near her chair. "Christ, she washit!" Hall rushed to her side, examined her for bullet wounds.

  "No, Mateo. His bullet sailed over my head. My bullets both hit him. Iaimed for the heart. See, you are covered with his blood, no?"

  "Water." Hall was sitting on the floor, Jerry's head in his lap, a handclasped firmly over her mouth. He dipped a handkerchief into the glassVicente gave him, ran it over her face. "Jerry," he whispered, "promiseme you won't yell if I take my hand away? Everything is all right. Hisshot missed us both, and now he's under control."

  She nodded. "I'm sorry I passed out," she said.

  "You're O.K. now."

  Vicente, standing over them, grinned at the girl. "_Si_, you_magnifica_," he said. "You make boom noise of comb. She"--he pointed toAndrotten, who lay under a blanket Vicente had found while Hall wasreviving Jerry--"she have much scare of boom, she shoot much badly. Me,Emilio, shoot much good. She no good no more."

  "Is he dead? _Muerto?_"

  "Much dead." Vicente showed them his pistol. He pointed to his ownsilencer. "I heard the son of a whore mother," he said to Hall, asardonic smile on his grim face. "When he gets to hell he will learnthat there were other silencers in this jungle."

  "You heard everything?"

  "But naturally, _companero_. I followed him to the door and listened.When you shouted to the woman that the Nazi had a gun, I knew you wereshouting for me. I have a gun, too. And a pass key. So I rushed into thenext room and climbed over to the balcony. It was not difficult."

  "You were very good. You saved our lives."

  "It is nothing."

  "I can get up, Matt," Jerry said. "I'd rather sit in the chair."

  Hall helped her to the chair, told her what Vicente had done. Vicentelaughed at Hall's account of his heroism. "It was nothing," he repeated."The Nazi was too fat to miss."

  "He's very messy," Hall said, looking at the blanket.

  "What are you going to do with the body?" Hall asked Vicente.

  "Feed it to the sharks."

  "Better fingerprint him and make photos of the face, first," Halladvised. "And let Segador know immediately."

  "Be tranquil, _companero_. All in good time. When you and the womanleave, Pepe and I shall put the remains of this dog in a laundry basketand get it out of here." Vicente looked at Jerry. "And I think you hadbetter get her out of this room. She is going to get sick if she stayshere."

  "You're right." Hall gave Jerry his hand. "Come on, nurse," he smiled."We're going to my room. This is no place for a lady." He helped her toher feet.

  She held her hand out to Vicente. "You are very sweet," she said."_Usted mucho dulce._ Understand?"

  "Understand," he laughed. He kissed her hand.
>
  Hall had a bottle of brandy in his room. He poured two stiff drinks forJerry and himself. "Feel any better?" he asked.

  "It was awful for a few minutes. I was afraid he would kill you."

  "So was I, baby. I was afraid he'd kill me before I ever got around totelling you how I felt. About you, I mean."

  "How do you feel about me?"

  He filled the glasses again. "Still think I'm a cop?"

  "I don't care. I guess you aren't, though."

  "Right."

  "I'd have died if he killed you. I love you, Matt."

  She was sitting on the edge of the bed. He stood over her, took theglass from her hand. "You know how I feel, then," he smiled.

  "Darling," she said, raising her face, "didn't you think that I knew?"

  "Wait," he laughed. "I'm filthy with his blood. I'd better change myclothes."

  He found a fresh suit and a clean shirt in his closet. "I'll change inthere," he said.

  "Darling," she said, while he was changing, "I still can't figure outwhy Ansaldo wanted me at the ranch."

  "I think I can, baby. It's not so hard. Figure it out for yourself. Thebeautiful American nurse is a complete political innocent. Sees all,knows nothing. A perfect set-up. The Falangist doctors take you along toSan Hermano. You sit in the sickroom while Ansaldo examines Tabio. Youyourself work on the smears and the slides in the laboratory. You arethe clean, unbiased witness who can testify that scientifically all wason the up and up. Your existence is proof that Ansaldo's visit waslegitimate. If anything was shady, he'd bring a Falangist nurse."

  "But why was I brought to the ranch?"

  "Same reasoning. Lavandero blocks Ansaldo's plans. Meanwhile, theFalange sends two agents from Spain with the latest orders for Ansaldo.He has to sneak out of town to confer with them. So does Androtten, theNazi boss of the expedition. Again Ansaldo takes the unbiased,non-political nurse along. She is still the witness. She sees nothingwrong at the ranch, and, after Ansaldo puts Tabio in the grave, ifanyone starts to suspect anything, they question the obviously innocentAmerican nurse and she backs Ansaldo's story. She really hasn't seen athing."

  "That is," Jerry said, "until the dumb American nurse stood under thewrong window and heard Joe Nazi himself."

  "Exactly."

  "Then you think they know that I heard Androtten?"

  "I can't say. But just to play safe, you're moving out of this hotel towhere they can't find you. And right away. Not that they're notprepared. Remember, you didn't _see_ Androtten. They know that much. Bynow you can bet your bottom dollar that they have a coffee planter threehundred miles from the Gamburdo ranch who will swear on a stack ofBibles that Androtten was with him for the past three days, and a wholeslew of witnesses to back him up."

  "But won't it make them suspicious if I move?"

  "The hell with them, baby. It's you that counts now."

  "Then I'm staying. I won't spoil it for you by playing into theirhands."

  Hall took her in his arms. "You're wonderful," he said. "But ..."

  The phone began to ring. It was Dr. Gonzales. "Can you come over to thePresidencia at once?" he asked. "Yes, very important. I am in DonAnibal's apartment. Please, hurry."

  "I'll be right over."

  "What is it, Matt?"

  "Come on. We're going to the Presidencia. It sounds like the end."