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.Especially a little bald chap who almost got gored bya wart hog while he was watching me watch baboons."Prime Minister Liskard laughed out loud."You deserve your reputation," he said."I hope our at-tention didn't offendyou.""Not at all," Simon said."It made me feel right at home.I'd have felt alittle lost without knowing that somebody was there watching.""Well," Liskard said, "it's a good thing you were watching, Mr Templar, or Imight be dead at this moment.Please do me the honor of sitting with my groupon the plane.""I'd be delighted."An important-looking man in a dark suit came up and spoke to Liskard."His name was Benjamin Scott.You remember? The one who escaped from Awi Bluffa week ago.""A madman then?" Liskard asked."Is that all there is to it?""Possibly.We're putting in a call to the director at Awi Bluff.Maybe he cantell us just what sort of lunatic the fellow was.""Is he dead?" one of Liskard's younger aides asked."Died instantly.Nothing on him.I think we can assume this was one insaneman's big blow-up.It shouldn't have political overtones or affect your trip.""Thank you, Stewart.Please let me know if there's anything more before wetake off.I'd not like to be delayed any longer than necessary."Stewart spoke to some other men, and within ten minutes the plane wasbeginning to take on passengers.Liskard was swept away, after a word ofapology to Simon, in a tide of last-minute business; but a moment after theloading of the plane began, a very officious-looking young man with a bulgingbriefcase in one hand came scurrying up to the Saint."I'm Lockhart, the Prime Minister's secretary," he said."I'm to ask you toplease come past the barrier with me and join our party on the plane."Simon turned to follow him, and almost bumped into someone else."And I'm the Prime Minister's wife," she said, not making the slightest movePage 45ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlto increase the minute space between herself and Simon."The Prime Ministerdidn't bother to introduce us," she went on."I think sometimes he forgets hehas a wife.""He'd have to be terribly forgetful, in that case," replied the Saint."But inthe circumstances, I'm sure he has a lot on his mind."She was about thirty-five, very attractive, very blonde, and there was aneurotic tension in the carefully made-up con-tours of her face.Simon had ahunch that her apparent calm in the midst of the storm of the assassinationattempt was the result of a good deal of alcoholic insulation."We'd better hurry, please," Lockhart said in clipped, high cultured tones."Don't worry, Jimmy," Mrs Liskard said."We won't get you in trouble with thebig man.""Shall we go on, then?" Simon suggested.He was made considerably more uncomfortable by the boozily affectionate wivesof other men than he was by wild-eyed assassins with high-powered rifles.MrsLiskard smiled at him, took his arm before he could get it out of her reach,and walked with him around the crowd of people waiting to board the plane."Jimmy is a very ambitious boy," she said loudly enough for Lockhart to hear."He's terribly afraid of upsetting the big man."Lockhart ignored the crack and Simon tried to.They boarded the big jet andentered a curtained-off section be-tween the pilot's area and the rest of theseating accommoda-tions.From his window Simon could see Liskard givingsolemnly confident waves to the photographers before he came up the ramp.MrsLiskard asked Lockhart to see about getting her a gin and tonic.A steward andstewardess appeared to make certain all was in order in the private section.Mrs Liskard asked them to see about getting her a gin and tonic since Lockhartwas taking so long.Simon did not like Mrs Liskard in spite of her attractive-ness.He had nothingagainst amiable alcoholics in general, but Mrs Liskard was too amiable to himand too unamiable to other people, toward whom she tended to take a coldlycondescending attitude.And her amiability toward Simon took a curious andvery irritating form of expression.When other people, such as Lockhart, werewatching, she fell all over him, but when there was no one else paying anyat-tention she dropped the whole passionate display almost entirely [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]