"THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS" - читать интересную книгу автора (Buchan John)

time many steep tales which had turned out to be true,
and I had made a practice of judging the man rather
than the story. If he had wanted to get a location in my
flat, and then cut my throat, he would have pitched a
milder yarn.

"Hand me your key," I said, "and I'll take a look at the
corpse. Excuse my caution, but I'm bound to verify a
bit if I can."

He shook his head mournfully. "I reckoned you'd ask
for that, but I haven't got it. It's on my chain on the
dressing-table. I had to leave it behind, for I couldn't
leave any clues to breed suspicions. The gentry who
are after me are pretty bright-eyed citizens. You'll have
to take me on trust for the night, and to-morrow you'll
get proof of the corpse business right enough."

I thought for an instant or two. "Right. I'll trust you for
the night. I'll lock you into this room and keep the key.
Just one word, Mr. Scudder. I believe you're straight,
but if so be you are not I should warn you that I'm a
handy man with a gun."

"Sure," he said, jumping up with some briskness. "I
haven't the privilege of your name, sir, but let me tell
you that you're a white man. I'll thank you to lend me a
razor."

I took him into my bedroom and turned him loose. In
half an hour's time a figure came out that I scarcely
recognized. Only his gimlety hungry eyes were the
same. He was shaved dean, his hair was parted in the
middle, and he had cut his eyebrows. Further, he
carried himself as if he had been drilled, and was the
very model, even to the brown complexion, of some
British officer who had had a long spell in India. He
had a monocle, too, which he stuck in his eye, and
every trace of the American had gone out of his
speech.

"My hat! Mr. Scudder--" I stammered.

"Not Mr. Scudder," he corrected; "Captain Theophilus
Digby, of the 40th Gurkhas, presently home on leave.
I'll thank you to remember that, sir."

I made him up a bed in my smoking-room and sought
my own couch, more cheerful than I had been for the
past month. Things did happen occasionally, even in