He could see nothing and the sound had stopped. He made a tiny movement and once more it started, like an impeded breath. He remained still and the sound died away. Outside somebody called "Mr. Dexter, Mr. Dexter." Then a new sound started. It was like somebody whispering—a long continuous monologue in the darkness. Martins said, "Is anybody there?" and the sound stopped again. He could stand no more of it. He took out his lighter. Footsteps went by and down the stairs. He scraped and scraped at the little wheel and no light came. Somebody shifted in the dark and something rattled in mid-air like a chain. He asked once more with the anger of fear, "Is anybody there?" and only the click click of metal answered him.

Martins felt desperately for a light switch first to his right hand and then to his left. He did not dare go farther because he could no longer locate his fellow occupant: the whisper, the moaning, the click had all stopped. Then he was afraid that he had lost the door and felt wildly for the knob. He was far less afraid of the police than he was of the darkness, and he had no idea of the noise he was making.

Paine heard it from the bottom of the stairs and came back. He switched on the landing light, and the glow under the door gave Martins his direction. He opened the door and smiling weakly as Paine turned back to take a second look at the room. The eyes of a parrot chained to a perch stared beadily back at him. Paine said respectfully, "We were looking for you, sir. Colonel Calloway wants a word with you."

"I lost my way," Martins said.

"Yes, sir. We thought that was what had happened."

10

I HAD KEPT A very careful record of Martins' movements (я вел очень тщательную запись передвижений Мартинса; to keep — хранить) from the moment I knew (с того момента, как я узнал) that he had not caught the plane home (что он не сел на самолет домой; to catch — ловить; успеть, попасть /на поезд и т. п./). He had been seen with Kurtz (он был увиден = его видели с Куртцем), and at the Josefstadt Theatre (и в Йозефштадтском театре): I knew about his visit to Dr. Winkler and to Cooler (я знал о его визите к доктору Винклеру и к Кулеру), his first return to the block where Harry had lived (его первом возвращении к дому, где жил Гарри). For some reason my man lost him between Cooler's and Anna Schmidt's flats (по какой-то причине мой человек потерял его между квартирами Кулера и Анны Шмидт): he reported that Martins had wandered widely (он сообщил, что Мартинс бродил далеко: «широко»), and the impression we both got (и впечатление, которое мы оба получили; to get — получить) was that he had deliberately thrown off his shadower (было, что он нарочно оторвался от своего преследователя; to throw — бросать; to throw off — сбросить, отбросить). I tried to pick him up at Sacher's Hotel and just missed him (я старался подобрать его в Отеле Захера и только-только пропустил его = разминулся с ним на совсем небольшое время).

Events had taken a disquieting turn (события приняли тревожный поворот; to disquiet — беспокоить, волновать, тревожить; quiet — тихий, спокойный), and it seemed to me that the time had come for another interview (и мне показалось, что время пришло для еще одной: «другой» беседы). He had a lot to explain (ему надо было: «он имел» много объяснить).

I put a good wide desk between us (я поставил хороший широкий письменный стол между нами) and gave him a cigarette (и дал ему сигарету): I found him sullen but ready to talk (я нашел его угрюмым, но готовым разговаривать), within strict limits (внутри строгих пределов = не выходя за определенные рамки).