04-01-04-三十九级台阶 [1]
；others simply wanted to make a lot of money，and there is always money to be made from a war. Their plan was to get Russia and Germany at war with each other.
'I want to stop them，'Scudder told me，'and if I can stay alive for another month，I think I can. '
'I thought you were already dead，'I said.
'I'll tell you about that in a minute，'he answered. 'But first，do you know who Constantine Karolides is？'
'The Greek Prime Minister. I've just been reading about him in today's newspapers. '
'Right. He's the only man who can stop the war. He's intelligent，he's honest，and he knows what's going on-and so his enemies plan to kill him. I have discovered how. That was very dangerous for me，so I had to disappear. They can't kill Karolides in Greece because he has too many guards. But on the 15th of June he's coming to London for a big meeting，and his enemies plan to kill him here. '
'You can warn him，'I said. 'He'll stay at home. '
'That's what his enemies want. If he doesn't come，they'll win，because he's the only man who understands the whole problem and who can stop the war happening. '
'Why don't you go to the British police？'I said.
'No good. They could bring in five hundred policemen，but they wouldn't stop the murder. The murderer will be caught，and he'll talk and put the blame on the governments in Vienna and Berlin. It will all be lies，of course，but everybody will be ready to believe it. But none of this will happen if Franklin P. Scudder is here in London on the 15th of June. '
I was beginning to like this strange little man. I gave him another whisky and asked him why he thought that he was now in danger himself.
He took a large mouthful of whisky. 'I came to London by a strange route-through Paris，Hamburg，Norway，and Scotland. I changed my name in every country，and when I got to London，I thought I was safe. But yesterday I realized that they're still following me. There's a man watching this building and last night somebody put a card under my door. On it was the name of the man I fear most in the world.
'So I decided I had to die. Then they would stop looking for me. I got a dead body-it's easy to get one in London，if you know how-and I had the body brought to my flat in a large suitcase. The body was the right age，but the face was different from mine. I dressed it in my clothes and shot it in the face with my own gun. My servant will find me when he arrives in the morning and he'll call the police. I've left a lot of empty whisky bottles in my room. The police will think I drank too much and then killed myself. 'He paused. 'I watched from the window until I saw you come home，and then came down the stairs to meet you. '
It was the strangest of stories. However，in my experience，the most extraordinary stories are often the true ones. And if the man just wanted to get into my flat and murder me，why didn't he tell a simpler story？
'Right，'I said. 'I'll trust you for tonight. I'll lock you in this room and keep the key. Just one word，Mr Scudder. I believe you're honest，but if you're not，I should warn you that I know how to use a gun. '
'Certainly，'he answered，jumping up. 'I'm afraid I don't know your name，sir，but I would like to thank you. And could I use your bathroom？'
When I next saw him，half an hour later，I didn't recognize him at first. Only the bright eyes were the same. His beard was gone，and his hair was completely different. He walked like a soldier，and he was wearing glasses. And he no longer spoke like an American.
'Mr Scudder—'I cried.
'Not Mr Scudder，'he answered. 'Captain Theophilus Digby of the British Army. Please remember that. '
I made him a bed in my study，and then went to bed myself，happier than I had been for the past month. Interesting things did happen sometimes，even in London.
* * *
The next morning when my servant Paddock arrived，I introduced him to Captain Digby. I explained that the Captain was an important man in the army，but he had been working too hard and needed rest and quiet. Then I went out，leaving them both in the flat. When I returned at about lunchtime
'I want to stop them，'Scudder told me，'and if I can stay alive for another month，I think I can. '
'I thought you were already dead，'I said.
'I'll tell you about that in a minute，'he answered. 'But first，do you know who Constantine Karolides is？'
'The Greek Prime Minister. I've just been reading about him in today's newspapers. '
'Right. He's the only man who can stop the war. He's intelligent，he's honest，and he knows what's going on-and so his enemies plan to kill him. I have discovered how. That was very dangerous for me，so I had to disappear. They can't kill Karolides in Greece because he has too many guards. But on the 15th of June he's coming to London for a big meeting，and his enemies plan to kill him here. '
'You can warn him，'I said. 'He'll stay at home. '
'That's what his enemies want. If he doesn't come，they'll win，because he's the only man who understands the whole problem and who can stop the war happening. '
'Why don't you go to the British police？'I said.
'No good. They could bring in five hundred policemen，but they wouldn't stop the murder. The murderer will be caught，and he'll talk and put the blame on the governments in Vienna and Berlin. It will all be lies，of course，but everybody will be ready to believe it. But none of this will happen if Franklin P. Scudder is here in London on the 15th of June. '
I was beginning to like this strange little man. I gave him another whisky and asked him why he thought that he was now in danger himself.
He took a large mouthful of whisky. 'I came to London by a strange route-through Paris，Hamburg，Norway，and Scotland. I changed my name in every country，and when I got to London，I thought I was safe. But yesterday I realized that they're still following me. There's a man watching this building and last night somebody put a card under my door. On it was the name of the man I fear most in the world.
'So I decided I had to die. Then they would stop looking for me. I got a dead body-it's easy to get one in London，if you know how-and I had the body brought to my flat in a large suitcase. The body was the right age，but the face was different from mine. I dressed it in my clothes and shot it in the face with my own gun. My servant will find me when he arrives in the morning and he'll call the police. I've left a lot of empty whisky bottles in my room. The police will think I drank too much and then killed myself. 'He paused. 'I watched from the window until I saw you come home，and then came down the stairs to meet you. '
It was the strangest of stories. However，in my experience，the most extraordinary stories are often the true ones. And if the man just wanted to get into my flat and murder me，why didn't he tell a simpler story？
'Right，'I said. 'I'll trust you for tonight. I'll lock you in this room and keep the key. Just one word，Mr Scudder. I believe you're honest，but if you're not，I should warn you that I know how to use a gun. '
'Certainly，'he answered，jumping up. 'I'm afraid I don't know your name，sir，but I would like to thank you. And could I use your bathroom？'
When I next saw him，half an hour later，I didn't recognize him at first. Only the bright eyes were the same. His beard was gone，and his hair was completely different. He walked like a soldier，and he was wearing glasses. And he no longer spoke like an American.
'Mr Scudder—'I cried.
'Not Mr Scudder，'he answered. 'Captain Theophilus Digby of the British Army. Please remember that. '
I made him a bed in my study，and then went to bed myself，happier than I had been for the past month. Interesting things did happen sometimes，even in London.
* * *
The next morning when my servant Paddock arrived，I introduced him to Captain Digby. I explained that the Captain was an important man in the army，but he had been working too hard and needed rest and quiet. Then I went out，leaving them both in the flat. When I returned at about lunchtime