"The Robot Brains." - читать интересную книгу автора (Bounds Sidney J.)

- 14 -

He drove back to the Fair. He was determined to find the Brains and speak to them. Instinct told him they were responsible; they knew, that Miller had been watching them, and so they killed him. And they killed Miller with Christian's gun because they wanted to take revenge on him: they had not forgotten that he had interfered when they were speaking with Jo.

When he came to the Fair, he parked the car and got out of it. It was dark. Only one light was seen in the distance - it came from the Brains' trailer. Christian walked towards it.

The door was locked. The captain took a piece of wire out of his pocket, worked with it a little, and the door opened. The captain stepped in, holding his gun ready.

He stopped, disappointed. The trailer was empty.

Christian looked angrily around. Where were the Brains now? He could not wait for them. He was sure that the owner of the Cross Keys had raised an alarm and the police were looking for him. And the first place where they would come would be the Fair.

He had to get away before the police came. It was absolutely necessary for him to remain in freedom until he could prove his innocence. There was nothing else to do, Christian decided: he must disappear.

He went quickly and silently to his own trailer and packed his bag. He looked under the pillow where he had left his gun: as he expected, there was nothing there. There was no doubt that the Brains had framed him for Miller's murder.

He was thinking where to go. He could not go to his yacht: he was sure that the police would visit it. He could not go to Fox - the police knew that they were friends, so, of course, they would come to Fox's place, too. He had friends who would be ready to hide him, but he wanted to remain near the Fair - that was his only chance to get at the Brains. And the Fair was leaving for Cambridge in the morning - Burkholder had decided to find a new place for it after the visit of Military Intelligence.

So Christian decided to go to Cambridge and hide there, waiting for his chance.

He took his bag and left his trailer. He went to the kitchen. There he took an empty bag and put into it some foodstuffs which he could find. Putting the bag on his shoulder, he left the kitchen.

The police knew the number of Miller's car, so he could not use it. He walked quickly along the path. In the bright light of the moon he saw a workman's bicycle near the fence. Without hesitation he got on it and, leaving the Fair, rode off in the direction of Cambridge.

He travelled the whole night, and with the first light of day he decided to stop and find a place to hide. He stopped at a deserted crossroads and looked around. Through the trees growing along the road he saw a field and a river in the distance. Near the river he noticed the ruins of a descrted boat-house.

He lifted his stolen bicycle on his shoulder and crossed the field to the river. He approached the ruins of the boathouse. Tall grass growing around the door showed that nobody was using the house.

He opened the door and frightened away a rat, which quickly ran into the darkness. He saw a flight of stairs which led to a loft, and he climbed up carrying the bicycle with him. He found himself in a small room with a little window, which gave him a clear view of the approaches to the house. So if some people were coming to the house, he would see them.

Christian was satisfied. He sat down on the floor and ate some cold bacon and bread and cheese. The whole morning he was looking out of the window, but saw nobody. In the afternoon he slept a few hours.

When night fell, he set off again, and in the morning he was near Cambridge.

On the wall of a newspaper stall there was a newspaper. Christian stopped his bicycle and looked through the front page. There was a photograph of him and a text under it:

The police are looking for Captain Arthur Christian to interview him in connection with the shooting at Reading.

Christian is tall, blond, blue-eyed, with a short beard.

He is armed. The police think he may be near Cambridge.

Christian was alarmed. He decided that he must find a hiding-place at once. He could not remain in the streets during the day.

He rode on again. Soon he saw a large poster:

BURKHOLDER'S FAIR

There was a picture of the Brains and a text in red letters:

Five pounds will be given to anyone who asks a question which the Brains cannot answer.

Below the poster gave the address of the place where the Fair was located.

Christian looked around. There was a long, partly broken fence along one side of the street. Behind the fence he saw a garden and an old shed. The garden was grown with weeds, and it was clear that it was not used. Christian looked around again to make sure that nobody saw him, then took his bicycle and got into the garden through a crack in the fence.

There was a lock on the door of the shed, but Christian easily broke it and got inside. He sat down on the floor and ate some food which still remained in his bag.

During the day he slept. In the evening, when it was dark, he left the shed and rode to the place where the Burkholder Fair was located.