"Hiding Place" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

good look at the room. The furnishings were shoddy and worn, the rug threadbare.
The table was as rickety as the chairs, and even the lamp shades were ragged.
The man's clothes were fairly new, but of poor quality and unpressed. There was,
obviously enough, no woman in his life. No second mouth to feed, no one to nag
him about his poverty and urge him to accept the bribes he had been offered.
"You're going to lose your present job too, Burroughs. You realize that, don't
you?"
"I've never been an idiot, Bales. I understand my situation."
"Not quite, or you'd be frightened." Bales said thoughtfully, "I'd like to ask
an irrelevant question, if you don't mind. Why did you become a school teacher?"

"Simple enough," said Burroughs. "To rest my mind."
"That's why you chose a dead language as your subject?"
"That's the idea, Bales. Can you think of anything more soothing than droning
through Caesar's Commentaries with a classful of uninterested schoolboys,
translating word by dull word the same boring descriptions that have made young
victims squirm for one unhappy generation after another? Why, I can teach the
stuff in my sleep. I very often do."
"You've never taught science?" asked Bales.
"Oh, no. That would stir up thoughts that had better remain dormant. I shouldn't
have minded teaching Greek, though. But they don't go for Greek in high school."

"A scientist who knows Latin and Greek. You're an unusual scholar."
"You're the first one who's come after me who's been unusual enough to think
so."
Bales paused. The man seemed perfectly self-possessed, perfectly confident of
his own ability to keep his secret. He had a right to feel that way. How long
had it been now? Twelve yearsЧbut at first, of course, no one had suspected.
Burroughs said, "I'm surprised it took so long to find me. A mere change of name
shouldn't have baffled you. And what is it they say about criminalsЧthat once a
man has chosen a pattern of crime, he doesn't change it? You should have known
I'd continue to teach."
"You forget that you left us a few false clues," said Bales. "And we didn't
think you'd succeed in getting another job in a school system. How did you
supply the necessary records?"
"There was no trouble. A colleague of mine was offered the job and turned it
down. I forged his name and used his record. And the salary was so low that no
one else applied."
Bales nodded. If you had nerve and acted as if there was nothing to be afraid
of, you could get away with almost anything. And it had become clear that behind
his prim schoolteacherish front, Burroughs had nerve. NerveЧand brains.
Bales put his hand into his pocket for his cigarettes. As he pulled the pack
out, he became aware of a faint tapping sound that came from behind him. He
swung around.
A Great Dane had come through the doorway from the next room. It was the dog's
claws that had tapped on the floor.
Burroughs said pleasantly, "He's been watching you all the time, you know. When
you put your hand in your pocket, he had no idea what you'd bring out."
"You have him well trained," said Bales.
"Naturally. I'm ready for a limited amount of violence."