04-01-04-三十九级台阶 [7]
'Is that house a hotel？'I asked.
'It certainly is. I'm the owner，and I hope you'll stay the night，because I've been alone for a week. '
I sat down next to him and got out my pipe. I began to think this young man might help me.
'You're young to own a hotel，'I said.
'My father died a year ago and now it's mine. It's not an exciting job for a young man like me. I didn't choose to do it. I want to write books. '
'You've got the right job，'I said. 'With all the travellers you meet you could be the best storyteller in the world. '
'Not today，'he said. 'Two hundred years ago，there were exciting people on the road，but today there are only cars full of fat old women，and fishermen. You can't make stories out of them. I want to sail up an African river，or live in an Indian village-and write about things like that. '
The hotel looked peaceful in the evening sun.
'I've travelled a bit，'I said，'and I'd be happy to live in a peaceful place like this. And perhaps you're sitting next to adventure now. I'll tell you a true story，and you can make a book of it if you like. '
I told him I was in the gold business in Africa，and I had discovered a group of international thieves. They had chased me to England and had killed my best friend. I described a chase across the desert，and an attack on the ship from Africa. And I described the Langham Place murder in detail. 'You want adventure，'I said，'well，here it is. The thieves are chasing me now，and the police are chasing them. '
'It's wonderful！'he whispered.
'You believe me，'I said gratefully.
'Of course I do，'he said. 'I can believe anything strange. It's things that happen every day that are difficult to believe. '
He was very young，but he was the man I needed.
'I think my enemies have lost me for the moment. But I must hide and rest for a day or two. Will you help me？'
He jumped up and led me to the house. 'You'll be safe here. I can keep a secret. And you'll tell me some more about your adventures，won't you？'
As I entered the hotel，I heard the sound of an engine. In the sky to the west was my enemy the plane.
He gave me a room at the back of the house. I asked him to watch out for cars and planes and sat down to work on Scudder's little book. As I have said，it was a number code. I had to find the word that was the key to it，and when I thought of the million words it might be，I felt hopeless. But the next afternoon I remembered that Scudder had said a woman called Julia Czechenyi was the key to the Karolides business，so I tried her name as the code key.
It was the answer. In half an hour I was reading，with a white face.
Suddenly，I heard the sound of a car stopping outside the hotel.
Ten minutes later，my young friend came up to my room，his eyes bright with excitement.
'There are two men looking for you，'he whispered. They're downstairs now having a drink. They described you very well. I told them you had stayed here last night and had left this morning. '
I asked him to describe them. One was a thin man with dark eyes，the other was always smiling and lisped. They were both English；my young friend was certain of this.
I took a piece of paper and wrote these words in German. I made it look like one page of a private letter：
…Black Stone. Scudder had discovered this，but he could do nothing for a fortnight. I don't think it's any good now because Karolides is uncertain about his plans. But if Mr T. advises，I will do the best I…
'Give this to them and say you found it in my bedroom. Ask them to return it to me if they find me. '
Three minutes later the car began to move. From behind the curtain I saw two men in it，one thin，one fatter.
The young man came back. He was very excited. 'That paper woke them up，'he said，happily. 'The thin man went white，and the fat one whistled. Then they left as quickly as they could. '
'Now I'll tell you what I want you to do，'I said. 'Go to the police station and describe the two men to them. Say you think they may have something to do with the London murder. I'm sure those two men will be back here tomorrow morning for more information about me. Tell the police to be here early. '