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Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is know n th roughou t the w orld as the Q ueen o f C rim e. H er books have sold over a billion copies in English w ith another billion in over 100 foreign languages. She is the m ost w idely published and translated author o f all tim e and in any language; only the Bible and Shakespeare have sold m ore copies. She is the author o f 80 crim e novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six other novels. The Mousetrap, her m ost famous play, was first staged in 1952 in London and is still perform ed there — it is the longest-running play in history.

Agatha C hristie’s first novel was published in 1920. It featured H ercule Poiro t, the B elgian detective w ho has becom e the m ost popular detective in crim e fiction since Sherlock Holm es. C ollins has published Agatha C hristie since 1926.

T his series has been especially c reated for readers w orldw ide w hose first language is n o t E nglish . Each sto ry has been shortened , and th e vocabu lary and g ram m ar sim plified to m ake it accessible to readers w ith a go od in term ed ia te know ledge o f the language.

The fo llow in g features are included after the story:A List o f characters to help the reader identify w ho is w ho, and how they are connected to each other. C ultural notes to explain historical and o ther references. A Glossary o f words that some readers m ay no t be fam iliar w ith are explained. T here is also a R ecord ing o f the story.

Agatha Christie

Destination Unknown

Collins

CollinsHarperCollins Publishers 77-85 Fulham Palace R oad London W6 8JBwww.collinselt.comCollins ® is a registered trademark o f HarperCollins Publishers Limited.This Collins English Readers edition published 2012R eprint 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0First published in Great Britain by Collins 1954AGATHA C H R ISTIE™ D estination Unknown™ Copyright © 1954 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved.Copyright © 2012 Destination Unknown™ abridged edition Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. www.agathachristie.comISBN: 978-0-00-745170-8A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover by crushed.co.uk © HarperCollins/Agatha Christie Ltd 2008 Typeset by Aptara in India.Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic.All rights reserved. N o part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, w ithout the prior permission o f the publishers.This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way o f trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated w ithout the publisher’s prior consent in any form o f binding or cover other than that in which it is published and w ithout a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.HarperCollins does not w arrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects w ill be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free o f viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

ContentsS to ry 1

C h a ra c te r list 101

C u ltu ra l n o tes 103

G lossary 108

Chapter 1M r Jessop sat at his desk. H e was a m an w ho looked as i f he lived indoors — a m an o f desks and paper — and his office was at the end o f a long underground corridor. A lthough Jessop’s sm ooth, pale face had no expression, his eyes w ere tired.

W alking w ith nervous energy up and dow n Jessop’s office was C olonel W h arton . T he C olonel had dark hair and a small m oustache. ‘R eports! ’ he exclaim ed loudly, ‘All w e get is security reports and they’re all useless!’

Jessop looked dow n at the papers and docum ents on his desk. T hey all read, ‘Betterton, Thomas’.

‘R ep orts — no t ju st from R o m e,’ con tinued the Colonel, ‘bu t from nearly every capital city in the w orld !’ H e sat dow n abruptly. ‘W e’ve got to find T hom as B etterton ,’ he insisted. ‘H e ’s like all these o ther top scientists that have disappeared recently — w e still don’t know w here they are. A nd w e don’t know how or w hy they disappear, either,’ he added. ‘Have you read the latest in fo rm ation on B etterton from A m erica?’

Jessop nodded. ‘B etterton w orked in A m erica before the w ar,’ he said. ‘H is w ork was good, bu t ordinary. W h en the scientist D r M an nh eim escaped to A m erica from Germ any, B etterton w orked as his assistant, and he later m arried D r M annheim ’s daughter, Elsa. A fter D r M annheim died, B etterton w orked on his ow n, and becam e very famous w hen he discovered Z E Fission - one o f the m ost b rillian t and im portan t discoveries about nuclear science th a t’s ever been m ade.’

‘I d o n ’t u n derstan d Z E Fission at all,’ said C o lonel W h arto n , ‘o r an y th in g abou t atom bom bs o r nuclear science. A ll I kn ow is th a t these scientists now have the pow er to destroy the w o rld !’

Agatha C hristie

‘B etterton becam e one o f the m ost im p ortan t scientists in the w orld,’ con tinued Jessop. ‘B u t his w ife Elsa died soon after their m arriage and B e tte rton decided to com e to England. H e’s been w ork ing at the nuclear laboratory in H arw ell for the last eighteen m onths. Just six m onths ago he m arried again.’

‘W h at about B e tte rto n ’s second w ife?’ asked W harton . ‘A nyth ing o f interest? ’

Jessop shook his head. ‘W e can’t find anyth ing ,’ he said. ‘She’s the daughter o f a local law yer and w orked in an office before her m arriage.’

‘W h at do the people at H arw ell say about B e tte rton ?’ W h arto n asked.

‘T hey said that he was a pleasant m an ,’ Jessop replied. ‘H e w orked on the practical uses o f Z E Fission - n o th in g new or original.’

B oth m en were silent for a m om ent, as they looked at the big pile o f security reports on the desk. ‘Was B etterton thoroughly investigated before he arrived in England? ’ asked Colonel W harton.

‘Yes, o f course. E very th ing was satisfactory.’‘A nd B ette rton’s been here eighteen m onths,’ said W h arton

thoughtfully. ‘Som etim es these scientists get nervous and upset because they’re always w atched so carefully — for security reasons, o f course. T hey begin to dream o f an ideal w orld - peace and freedom for everyone. T hey w ant to share their secrets and their w ork w ith all the w orld, for the good o f h u m an ity ! T h a t’s exactly the m om ent w hen som eone can persuade them to sell their secrets and betray their country .’

‘It w ould help i f I knew m ore about B etterton ,’ said Jessop, looking again at the papers on his desk. ‘N o t about his w ork, bu t about the everyday things — w hat m ade h im laugh, the people he adm ired or w hat m ade h im angry.’

D estination U nknow n

‘C an’t his w ife tell you that? ’ asked W h arton .‘She hasn’t helped m e m uch so far,’ said Jessop. ‘She says she

doesn’t know any th ing about her husband’s disappearance — she says she th inks he’s been k idnapped.’

‘W h a t’s she like?’‘She seems like a very ordinary w om an ,’ said Jessop. ‘She’s

w aiting to see m e now. I ’ll ask her the same questions again and see i f she can tell m e anyth ing new.’

W h arto n nodded. ‘It’s the only way,’ he said. ‘Let m e know if you learn any th ing interesting.’ H e left the room as Jessop picked up the phone and told his assistant to send in M rs B etterton .

M rs O live B ette rton was a tall w om an o f about tw enty-seven. T he first th in g you noticed about her was her beautiful red hair. Because her hair was so lovely, you d idn’t really notice w hat her face looked like. She had b lue-green eyes and light eyelashes.

‘O h , M r Jessop,’ she said breathlessly as she sat dow n, ‘is there any new s?’

‘N o, I’m sorry,’ said Jessop gently. ‘T h e re ’s no definite news. I just w an ted to ask you the same questions in case you rem em ber some small detail that could help.’

‘Yes. Yes, I understand,’ said M rs B etterton . ‘I don’t m ind. It’s better than sitting at hom e - w ondering. Ask m e any questions you like.’

‘So the last tim e you saw your husband was on 23rd August, w hen he left to go to a conference in Paris?’

‘Yes.’‘H e w en t to the first tw o days o f the conference,’ said Jessop,

‘bu t on the th ird day he told a colleague that he was going on a boat trip on the river Seine. Does that seem likely?’

‘It is a little strange that he missed the conference,’ adm itted M rs B etterton .’

Agatha C hristie

‘H e didn’t re tu rn to his hotel that evening,’ continued Jessop, ‘and he didn’t travel to another country using his ow n passport. Do you know if he had a second passport - in another nam e, perhaps?’

‘N o, no, o f course not. A nd he w ouldn’t ju s t go away w ithou t telling m e.’

‘Was his health all righ t?’ asked Jessop.‘Yes. H e was w ork ing hard and som etim es felt tired , that’s

all,’ said M rs B etterton . ‘H e wasn’t w orried or unhappy about anything, i f th a t’s w hat you m ean. Som eth ing m ust have happened to h im .’ She opened her handbag and took out a handkerchief. ‘It’s all so aw ful,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘Som eth ing’s happened to Tom. H e ’s been k idnapped or — or he’s dead.’

‘N o w please, M rs B etterton — there’s no need to th in k that your husband is dead. W e w ould have found his body by now.’

She took the handkerch ief away from her eyes and stared at him , suddenly angry. ‘I know w hat you th in k ,’ she said, ‘bu t it’s no t true! Tom w ould never sell secrets or betray his country. H e was a scientist — a brillian t scientist.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Jessop, ‘he was a brillian t scientist. T h a t’s w hy he m ight have been offered a large am ount o f m oney to w ork in another country .’

‘It’s not true,’ repeated Olive B etterton angrily. ‘H e would have told me. H e w ould have given m e some clue. But he told me nothing. I don’t know w here he is. H e m ust have been kidnapped — or he’s dead. But I need to know, I must know. I can’t go on like this, w aiting and w ondering. I can’t eat or sleep. I’m sick w ith worry. C an’t you help me? C an’t you help m e at all?’

‘I’m very sorry, M rs B ette rton ,’ said Jessop gently. ‘W e’re do ing ou r best to find ou t w h a t’s happened to yo u r husband. W e get lots o f reports every day, bu t there is still no defin ite new s.’

D estination U nknow n

‘I m ust know,’ she said again. ‘I can’t go on like this.’‘D o you love your husband, M rs B e tte rton ?’‘O f course I love him . W e’ve only been m arried six m onths.’ ‘So you had n’t argued w ith h im before he disappeared?’‘O h , n o !’‘A nd there was — I’m sorry to ask — no other w om an?’‘O f course not. I’ve told you. W e w ere only m arried in A pril.’ ‘I ’m sorry, b u t w e have to th in k o f everything,’ said Jessop.

‘I ’m try in g to find ou t w hat your husband was like. A nd you’re no t helping m e very m uch.’

‘B ut I ’ve answ ered all your questions.’‘Yes, you have,’ said Jessop, ‘bu t your answers are m ainly

negative — I w ant som ething positive, som ething that tells m e the k ind o f person your husband is.’

She th ough t for a m om ent. ‘W ell,’ she said, ‘Tom was cheerful and good-tem pered . A nd clever, o f course.’

Jessop sighed. ‘D id your husband have m any friends?’‘H e was in A m erica for so long,’ said M rs B etterton , ‘that he

d idn’t kn ow m any people here.’Jessop looked at a paper on his desk. ‘I have a report here,’

he said, ‘that tw o people from A m erica visited your husband recently. T he first was called W alter Griffiths.’

‘Yes, I rem em ber him . Tom was surprised to see him , but very pleased. T hey w ere good friends in Am erica. Griffiths was very anxious to tell Tom everything that had happened after he left - all the local gossip. I suppose. I d idn’t listen very closely.’

‘A nd the second person to visit your husband was a w om an called Carol Speeder.’

‘O h , yes. She had know n Tom in A m erica, and rang h im up from L ondon to ask i f w e could m eet for lunch. B ut we d idn’t go in the end .’

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Agatha C hristie

‘You d idn’t go, b u t your husband did.’‘W h at? ’ M rs B ette rton stared at him .‘So he d idn’t tell you? It was on 12th A ugust.’M rs B etterton looked uneasy. ‘Yes, Tom did go to London then.’ ‘D id you no tice any change in your husband’s behaviour

about that tim e? It was a w eek before the conference.’N o — no, I no ticed no th ing ,’ she said. ‘T here was no th ing to

notice.’T he telephone on Jessop’s desk rang and he picked up the

receiver.‘T here’s a m an asking to see you, Sir,’ said his assistant. ‘A bout

T hom as B ette rton .’ H e spelt out a foreign nam e that Jessop w rote dow n on a piece o f paper.

‘Is he from P oland?’Jessop asked.‘H e d idn’t say, Sir. H e speaks English w ell.’‘Ask h im to w ait,’ Jessop said. ‘I’ll see h im in a m inu te .’ H e

pu t dow n the phone.‘D o you know anybody w ith this nam e?’ Jessop asked,

show ing M rs B etterton the paper.H er eyes w idened and he though t she looked frightened. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, I do. H e w rote to m e yesterday. H e ’s a

cousin o f Tom ’s first wife. H e has ju st arrived in E ngland and w ro te to say how sorry he was that Tom had disappeared. H e asked i f I had any new s.’

‘D id your husband ever talk about him ? ’‘N o .’‘So he m ight no t be any relation at all?’‘W ell, no, I suppose not. I d idn’t th in k o f that.’ O live B etterton

looked surprised. ‘B ut T om ’s first w ife was D r M an nh e im ’s daughter. This m an knew all about her. A nd w hy else w ould he w rite to m e?’

D estination U nknow n

‘I don’t know ,’ adm itted Jessop. ‘I’m afraid in this jo b I ’m always a little suspicious o f everyone.’

‘Yes, I can understand that,’ said M rs B etterton . She pushed her red hair back from her forehead. ‘I can’t bear it m uch longer,’ she said nervously. ‘Just sitting and w aiting. I w ant to get away — go abroad for a while. Som ewhere w here the new spaper reporters w on’t r ing m e up all the tim e, and people w o n’t stare at me. I’ve tried to be brave, bu t it’s too m uch for me. M y doctor agrees. H e w rote m e a letter.’

She took an envelope out o f her bag and gave it to Jessop. ‘See w hat m y doctor says.’

Jessop read the letter. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, I see.’ H e gave the letter back.

‘So - can I go ?’ she asked nervously.‘O h , o f course, M rs B etterton ,’ Jessop replied in surprise.

‘W h y not? I t’s entirely your ow n business. Just let m e know how I can contact you in case there’s news. W here are you going?’

‘Som ew here sunny — Spain or M orocco.’‘Very nice,’ said Jessop. ‘I’m sure it w ill be good for you.’ ‘O h , yes, th ank you. T han k you very m uch.’ M rs B etterton

stood up, excited and nervous, and Jessop showed her out o f the room .

W h en she had gone, Jessop sat dow n at his desk. T hen he smiled, very slowly.

H e picked up the phone. ‘I’ll see M ajor Glydr now,’ he said.

Chapter 2‘M ajor G lydr?’Jessop hesitated as he said the strange name.

‘It is difficult to say, yes,’ said the visitor. ‘N o w I live in Am erica, I th in k I w ill change m y nam e.’

‘Have you ju st arrived from A m erica?’‘Yes, I arrived a w eek ago.’Jessop looked at his visitor. H e saw a tall m an, w ho stood very

straight and stiff, aged about th irty. His fair hair was cut very short, and he spoke slowly and carefully. H e seem ed to be in com plete control o f h im se lf and wasn’t at all nervous.

‘H o w can I help yo u?’ Jessop asked.‘I cam e to ask i f you had any news about T hom as B etterton .

H e is a relative o f m ine by m arriage.’‘I’m sorry, bu t I have no definite new s,’ said Jessop pleasantly.

‘I am told, M ajor Glydr, that you are the nephew o f the late D r M annheim .’

‘A h, so you k n o w th a t already. Yes, m y m o th e r was D r M an n h e im ’s on ly sister. I am from Poland, b u t m y parents died w h en I was yo un g and I w en t to live in G erm any w ith m y uncle and his daugh ter, Elsa. She was like a sister to m e. T hen cam e W orld W ar II, and m y uncle and Elsa escaped to A m erica w h ile I stayed to figh t in the Polish R esistance against the G erm ans.

‘A fter the w ar I finally get to A m erica, bu t alas’ — he spread out his hands — ‘m y uncle, he is dead, m y cousin, too, and her husband has com e to England and has m arried again. So once m ore I have no family. W hen I hear about the disappearance o f the w ell-know n scientist Thom as B etterton , I com e over to see w hat can be done.’ H e paused and looked at Jessop. ‘D o you know w hy he disappeared? ’

D estination U nk now n

Jessop’s face had no expression. ‘W e do n o t,’ he replied.‘B ut you suspect? ’‘It is possible,’ said Jessop carefully, ‘that his disappearance is

connected to that o f o ther scientists.’‘D id all these scientists disappear w illing ly? ’‘It is difficult to say,’ saidjessop. ‘Forgive m e for asking, M ajor

Glydr, bu t T hom as B etterton is related to you only by m arriage. You don’t know him . W h y are you so interested? ’

‘T hat is true. B ut in Poland the fam ily is very im portan t.’ H e stood up and bo w ed . ‘I thank you for your tim e.’

‘I’m sorry I cannot help you,’ saidjessop. ‘B ut i f I do have any news, w here can I contact you?’

‘T he A m erican Embassy w ill know how to find me. I thank you.’ A gain M ajor Glydr bow ed and then left the room .

Back at his desk, Jessop picked up the phone. A sk C olonel W h arto n to com e to m y office.’

W h en W h arto n entered the room Jessop said, ‘Som ething is happening at last. M rs B etterton w ants to go abroad.’

‘Is she going to m eet her husband?’‘I hope so,’ said Jessop. ‘She show ed m e a letter from her

doctor, advising a rest and a change o f scene. O f course, it may even be true .’

‘D o you really th in k so?’‘N o, I don’t. B ut she’s very good at pretending - very

convincing.’‘D id you find out any th ing else?’ asked W harton .‘Just that B e tterton d idn’t tell his w ife that he m et Carol

Speeder for lunch ,’ said Jessop. ‘She m igh t be the contact. A nd she had a letter from M ajor Glydr, a cousin o f B etterton’s first wife. H e ’s ju s t been here himself. W e’ll keep a close eye on h im .’

‘W here is M rs B ette rton go ing?’

Agatha Christie

‘Spain or M orocco, she said.’‘T hey are the only tw o countries w here B e tterton hasn’t been

seen,’ said W h arton . ‘All right, w e’ll w atch her very carefully. W e’ll use Janet, I th in k . L et’s hope we get results this tim e.’

Jessop leaned back in his chair. ‘It’s a long tim e since I had a holiday,’ he said. ‘I m igh t even take a trip abroad m y se lf . . .’

10

Chapter 3I

‘A ir France F light 108 to Paris is now boarding.’O n hearing this announcem ent, H ila ry Craven and the rest o f

the passengers w alked out to the w aiting aeroplane at H eathrow A irport. ‘T his is it,’ though t H ila ry as she took her seat on the plane. ‘I’m finally going to escape. Away from the cold and grey, the pain and m isery, to sunshine, blue skies and a new life.’

T he plane m oved gently along the runw ay, and the air hostess told the passengers to fasten their seat belts. W ith a roar o f the engines the plane took o f f and soon they w ere flying up in the clouds. T he roads and railways, so far below, looked small and u n im portan t. H ilary closed her eyes. She had escaped. She had left England, left N igel, and left B renda’s grave beh ind her. She sat back in her seat and w ent to sleep.

II

W hen H ilary w oke up, the plane was landing — but not in Paris.‘W e are land ing at Beauvais because o f th ick fog in Paris,’

explained the air hostess. O nce they w ere on the ground, the passengers w alked th rough the cold dam p m ist to a rough w ooden building. ‘It’s an old w ar aerodrom e.’ H ilary heard a m an say. A t least w e’re in France, so w e should get som ething to d rin k .’

T rue enough, the passengers w ere soon given drinks w hile they w aited. H ours passed and other planes landed. Soon the small bu ild ing was full o f cold, tired people, com plaining about the delay.

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H ilary felt like she was in a dream . She w aited patiently un til she was finally seated on a bus, w hich began its long slow jo u rn ey th ro ug h the fog towards Paris. It was m idn igh t w hen the passengers at last arrived at their hotel, and H ilary was so tired that she w ent straight to bed.

H er plane to Casablanca in M orocco was due to leave Paris at ten -th ir ty the nex t m orning , bu t w hen H ilary arrived at the airport everything was in confusion. Because o f the fog, planes had been delayed all over Europe. A fter a long wait, H ilary was finally booked on to another flight to Casablanca.

‘T he fog has caused m any delays,’ explained the busy clerk at the departure desk. ‘B ut this plane w ill arrive in Casablanca only three hours later than your orig inal flight. A nd w hat does it really m atter, M adam e, w hich plane you take to Casablanca? ’

B ut on that day it d id m atter. W h en H ilary finally arrived at Casablanca and stepped ou t in to the sunshine, the p o rter in charge o f the luggage trolley said, ‘It was lucky for you, M adam e, that you w ere no t on the earlier plane.’

‘W h y?’ H ilary asked. ‘W h at happened?’T he m an looked around uneasily, bu t he knew that the news

could not be kept secret. ‘It was terrible,’ he said quietly. ‘T he plane crashed. O n ly a few people are still alive. T hey have been taken to hospital, badly hu rt.’

H ilary’s first reaction was anger. ‘If I had been on that plane,’ she thought, ‘I w ould be dead now — it w ould all be over, at la s t. . . ’

She w ent th ro ug h custom s and was driven to her hotel. She had arrived. She had left cold, dark L ondon beh ind and now she was in a place o f life and colour and sunshine. It was ju st as lovely as she had im agined it w ould be. She had escaped.

B ut finally, sitting in her hotel room , H ila ry realized that there was no escape. B renda was still dead, and soon N igel w ould be

12

D estination U nknow n

m arry ing his new wife. Those w ere the facts and they w o u ldn ’t change. She still felt the same despair, w hatever coun try she was in. T here was no escape from reality.

H ilary had survived a long illness, and then her husband N igel had cruelly abandoned her. She had survived because she had B renda, her daughter. B ut then B renda had becom e ill, and finally she had died . . .

T h in k in g w ith despair about her husband and her daughter, H ilary finally adm itted that she did no t w ant to live any m ore. She w ished she had died in the plane crash. It w ould have been so easy. I f she had been on her orig inal flight, she w ould now be dead, and free from suffering. ‘W ell,’ th ou gh t H ilary at last, ‘I can still end it now. I ju st need to go to a pharm acy.’

Ill

H ilary was surprised to find that sleeping pills w ere hard to buy in a foreign city. T he first pharm acy did no t give her enough, saying that for m ore pills she needed a p rescrip tion . O n her way out she bum ped in to a tall, serious young m an w ho said ‘S orry’ in English. She heard h im ask for a particular k ind o f toothpaste as she left the shop.

She visited four different pharm acies before she had enough sleeping pills. In the th ird pharm acy, H ilary was am used to see the serious young m an again, still asking for toothpaste. A nd w hen she w en t downstairs for dinner, H ilary no ticed the young m an in the hotel d in ing room , reading a French newspaper.

A fter a good m eal and a glass o f w ine, H ilary felt alm ost excited about w hat she was going to do. It was her last adventure. She w ent back to her room carry ing a bo ttle o f water, locked the

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door and took ou t all the sleeping pills. She ju st had to swallow the pills and her life w ould be over.

T h o ug h she was a little afraid, H ila ry was also calm . She decided no t to leave a no te — N igel w ould read about her death in the newspaper. H e d id n ’t seem im p o rtan t any m ore. She could do w hat she w an ted , and she was ready to start her final journey .

B ut as H ilary reached for the first sleeping pill she heard a quiet knock on the door. She frow ned and decided no t to answer it. B ut after a w hile there was another knock, and H ilary w atched in am azem ent as the key slowly tu rn ed in the lock and the door opened. In cam e the serious young m an w ho had been try ing to buy toothpaste.

‘W h at do you th in k you’re doing h ere?’ asked H ilary angrily.‘T h a t’s ju st w hat I was going to ask you,’ said the serious

young m an, look ing at the pills on the table.T he situation was so strange that H ilary d idn’t know w hat

to say. In the end she asked, ‘H o w did you tu rn the key in the lock?’

‘O h , th a t!’ T he young m an smiled and showed her a m etal instrum ent. ‘You pu t it in the lock and tu rn the key from the outside,’ he explained. ‘Burglars use them .’

‘So you’re a burg lar?’ said Hilary.‘N o, no ,’ said the young m an. ‘M y nam e’s Jessop. I did knock,

i f you rem em ber. You w ouldn’t let m e in so I used this.’‘But w hy?’Again Jessop looked at the pills on the table. ‘It’s no t like

going to sleep,’ he said. ‘I f it works at all, it can take a long tim e, and can be very painful.’

H ilary forced herself to smile. ‘D o you th in k I was going to kill m yself?’ she said. ‘T h a t’s ridiculous!’

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‘I know you w ere,’ replied Jessop. ‘I followed you to those pharm acies and saw you buy all those sleeping pills.’ H is voice was friendly and casual.

H ilary stopped pretending ‘You can’t stop m e,’ she said. ‘Even if you take the pills away, I can get some m ore. O r I could ju m p off a roof, or in fron t o f a tra in .’

‘N o ,’ he agreed. ‘I can’t stop you, bu t tom orrow you m ight no t do anything. T om orrow you m igh t feel differently.’

‘I don’t th in k I w ill,’ H ilary argued. ‘M y husband, w ho I loved, left m e. M y only child died painfully. I don’t have any close friends or relatives, and I don’t have any w ork or a jo b that I love doing. I don’t th in k it’s w ron g to end m y ow n life. So w hy don’t you ju st leave m e alone?’

T he young m an looked at her thoughtfu lly ‘So, let’s m ake sure I understand. You don’t w ant to live any longer - is that righ t?’

‘Yes, th a t’s righ t.’‘G ood ,’ said Jessop, cheerfully. ‘Instead o f sleeping pills, I’m

going to suggest another way that you can die.’‘I don’t understand w hat you m ean,’ said H ilary in surprise. ‘Let m e explain,’ said Jessop. ‘You m ay have heard that several

scientists have disappeared lately?’‘Yes,’ said H ilary. ‘I’ve read about it in the newspapers.’ ‘W ell,’ con tinued Jessop, ‘we w ant to know w hat’s happened

to them . W ere all these scientists - there are lots o f them - kidnapped, or did they go w illingly? W here have they gone? W h o arranged everything and w hat do they want? T here are so m any questions — and you can help us get some answers.’

H ilary stared at h im . ‘M e? H o w ?’‘A scientist called Thom as B ette rton disappeared from Paris

ju st over tw o m onths ago. H is w ife says she has no idea w here he is. I don’t th in k th a t’s true .’

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Agatha Christie

H ilary leaned forw ard, interested in w hat he said, briefly forgetting her ow n problem s.

‘W e w atched M rs B etterton closely,’ con tinued Jessop. ‘Yesterday she left E ngland to travel to Casablanca. H er plane crashed.’

‘I know about the plane,’ said H ilary. ‘I was supposed to be on it.’

‘M rs B etterton is in hospital at the m om ent,’ saidjessop, ‘but the doctor says she w o n’t live for long.’

‘I still don’t understand,’ said H ilary. ‘W h a t does this have to do w ith m e?’

‘Because you have red hair, the same as M rs B etterton ,’ explained Jessop. ‘I ’m suggesting that w hen M rs B etterton dies, you take her place. You pretend to be M rs B etterton . You try and reach her husband and find out w here he is and w hat he’s doing.’

‘B ut surely,’ said H ilary, ‘they w ould k now I wasn’t really her?’‘W e don’t know for sure,’ said Jessop. ‘O ften these people

w ork in small groups for their ow n security. I f M rs B etterton was travelling to m eet her husband, all that the people here in M orocco know is that they have to contact a certain w om an at a certain tim e and place. M rs B e tterton’s passport description is five-foot-seven, red hair, b lue-green eyes — just like you.

‘W e w ill arrange th ings w ith the French authorities so that officially you — H ilary Craven — died in hospital a few days after the plane crash. M rs B etterton w ill con tinue her journey . A nd being in a plane crash is a good cover story for you. C oncussion can cause loss o f m em ory.’

‘It’s a crazy idea!’ H ilary exclaimed.‘O h , yes,’ said Jessop. ‘It is crazy. It’s very difficult and

dangerous, and i f I’m being honest, your chances o f surviving

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aren’t h igh — you m ay well be killed. B u t th a t’s w hat you w ant, isn’t it? A nd this way w ill probably be m ore exciting than sleeping pills.’

Suddenly and unexpectedly H ilary laughed. ‘I do believe you’re righ t,’ she said. ‘I ’ll do it. Yes, I ’ll do it.’

‘In that case,’ said Jessop, standing up w ith sudden energy, ‘there’s no tim e to lose.’

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Chapter 4

In the hospital O live B ette rton lay unconscious in bed. T he doctor quietly to ld Jessop that she w ouldn’t live m uch longer.

‘W h at do you w an t m e to say to her?’ asked H ilary.‘Find out any in fo rm ation you can,’ replied Jessop. ‘A ny

passw ord, sign or message - any th ing that m igh t help. She is m ore likely to speak to you than to m e.’

H ilary nodded and w ent to sit by O live B ette rton ’s bed. She felt extrem ely sorry for the w om an w ho lay there dying. H ad she really been going to m eet the m an she loved?

T im e passed. It w asn’t un til tw o hours later that Olive B etterton’s eyes opened for a m om ent, and a nurse left to find the doctor. T he dy ing w om an looked at H ilary w ith surprise. ‘W here . . . ?’ M rs B ette rton ’s voice was faint and breathless.

T he doctor entered the room and held M rs B ette rton ’s hand. ‘You are in hospital, M adam e,’ he said. ‘T here was an accident to the plane. Is there anyone you w ant to see in Casablanca? Any message for anyone?’

‘N o ,’ said M rs B etterton . She looked again at H ilary. ‘W h o — w ho . . . ?’

‘I came from E ngland on a plane, too ,’ said H ilary. ‘Please tell m e i f I can help you.’

‘N o — no th ing .’T he dy ing w o m an’s eyes closed again. Jessop stepped

forw ard. ‘C an you tell m e any th ing about y o u r husband, M rs B e tte rto n ? ’

H er eyes opened for a m om ent. ‘N o ,’ she said. Jessop quietly left the room . ‘It w o n ’t be long ,’ the do cto r said qu ietly to

I

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D estination U nk now n

H ilary, before he too left the room . T he tw o w om en w ere alone.

O live B etterton m oved her hand a little and tried to speak. It was obviously hard for her. ‘Tell m e — tell m e . . .’

H ila ry knew w hat she was asking. ‘You are dying,’ she said clearly. ‘Please listen to me. I am going to try and reach your husband — to reach Tom. D o you have a message for him ? ’

‘Tell h im — to be careful. Boris — Boris - dangerous . . .’ H er voice was faint.

‘Is there any th ing you know that w ill help m e?’ asked H ilary. ‘Snow,’ said O live B etterton faintly. T hen she m ade an effort

to speak. ‘Snow, snow, beautiful snow! You slip on a lum p, and over you go! G o — go and tell h im about Boris. I d idn’t believe it, bu t perhaps it’s true . . . I f it is . . .’ — she looked painfully up at H ilary — ‘take care . . .’

A strange noise cam e from O live B ette rton ’s lips. A nd then she died.

II

H ilary w orked very hard for the nex t five days. She stayed in a private room in the hospital and m em orized all the details o f O live B e tte rto n ’s life that Jessop gave her. She learned all about O live’s house, her relatives, her w edding day and her m arried life w ith T hom as B etterton . She knew all about O live’s pet dog, w hat she liked to eat and d rin k and w hat the room s in her house looked like.

‘D oes all this really m atter?’ H ilary asked Jessop.‘Probably n o t,’ he replied, ‘bu t you’ve got to th in k that you are

O live B etterton . You have to become her in every detail. A nd you

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Agatha C hristie

haven’t got m uch tim e. I t’s a good th in g that you’re in telligent and have a good m em ory.’

H e looked at her thoughtfully . A lthough their passport descriptions w ere the same, H ilary Craven and O live B etterton looked very different. You d idn’t really notice O live’s face, but H ila ry ’s face was strong, and her eyes w ere alive and intelligent.

H ilary was enjoying herself and was interested in w hat she was doing, bu t she still had questions. ‘H o w do you know that the people here w o n’t know exactly w hat O live B etterton looks like?’

‘I don’t know for sure,’ adm itted Jessop. ‘It is a risk. But hopefully, all they kn ow is that O live B etterton was arriv ing on that plane. She herself isn’t a scientist — she’s no t im portant. It’s only because o f the plane crash — w hich was real — and your red hair, that w e can take this chance. A ll w e had planned to do before was to w atch O live B etterton - th a t’s all.’

‘W ill you be w atching m e?’ asked H ilary.‘Yes, o f course,’ saidjessop. ‘B ut I w o n’t tell you how. T hen

you w on’t be able to tell anyone else.’‘D o you th in k I w ould? ’‘I don’t m ean on purpose,’ Jessop said. ‘B u t i f som eone

surprises you, even a m om en t’s pause o r a look can give you away.’

T he lessons continued , and H ilary learned no t ju st about O live B etterton , bu t also w hat she needed to do as she w ent on her journey. Jessop asked H ilary question after question, testing her know ledge and try ing to confuse her. A t last he said he was satisfied.

‘Y ou’re a quick learner,’ saidjessop. ‘A nd rem em ber, though you m ay feel alone at times, you probably w o n’t be. I say “probably”, bu t I can’t prom ise.’

D estination U nk now n

‘A nd w hat happens,’ said H ilary, ‘i f I succeed — if I finally see Tom B ette rton ?’

Jessop looked serious. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘T h a t’s the m ost dangerous m om ent. All I can say is that i f every th ing has gone to plan, you should have protection . B ut at the beg inning , I did say that your chances o f surviving w eren’t high. T h o ug h that was before I knew you very w ell.’

H ila ry was pleased. ‘I have ano ther question,’ she said. ‘W h a t happens i f I m eet som eone w ho recognizes m e — H ilary Craven? ’

‘D o n ’t w orry ,’ said Jessop. ‘T he people you travelled w ith on the plane have flow n on elsewhere. W h en you leave this hospital you’ll be w earing O live B etterton’s clothes and your hair w ill be styled like hers. W e have a doctor w ho w ill m ake it look as i f you’ve been in an accident. N o one w ill recognize you.’

‘You th in k o f everything,’ said H ilary. ‘A nd w hat do you th in k about w hat O live B etterton to ld m e before she died? She said “ Tell h im ” — m eaning her husband — “tell h im to be careful — Boris — dangerous

‘Boris,’ repeated Jessop. ‘Yes, th a t’s interesting. She m ust have m eant M ajor Boris Glydr.’

‘D o you k n ow h im ?’ asked H ilary. ‘W h o is he?’‘I f he is w ho he says he is, he’s a cousin o f the first M rs

B ette rton .’‘She was frightened,’ said H ilary, frow ning. ‘Tell m e w hat he

looks like, so I can recognize h im .’‘H e’s about six feet tall and has short fair hair, light eyes and is

rather stiff.’ Jessop paused. ‘I had h im followed w hen he left m y office,’ he said, ‘bu t he w ent straight to the A m erican Embassy. T hen w e lost h im . B u t yes — I th in k that Olive B etterton was righ t w hen she said that Boris G lydr was dangerous.’

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Chapter 5I

Two m iddle-aged ladies w ere sitting in the small lounge o f a hotel in Casablanca. M rs Baker, short and round, w ith blue- tin ted hair, was w ritin g letters. She was an energetic w om an w ho loved to talk — a typical A m erican travelling abroad.

Miss H ethering ton , w ho was obviously English, was kn ittin g a shapeless-looking jum per. She was tall and th in w ith badly- styled hair and a disappointed expression.

T he tw o ladies had been staying at the hotel for a few days and had got to know each other. T hey b o th looked up as they saw a tall w om an w ith red hair w alk past the door o f the lounge.

‘D id you see that w om an w ith red hair?’ w hispered M rs Baker. ‘T hey say she’s the only survivor o f that terrible plane crash last w eek.’

‘I saw her arrive this afternoon,’ said Miss H ethering ton . ‘She cam e straight from hospital in an am bulance.’

‘T he hotel m anager told m e she had concussion,’ continued M rs Baker. ‘I see her face was bandaged. P oor th ing. I w onder if she was travelling w ith her husband?’

‘I don’t th in k so,’ said Miss H ethering ton . ‘In the newspaper it said she was travelling alone. H er nam e is M rs B etterton , I believe. N o w w here have I heard that nam e before?’

II

L ooking pale and ill, w ith her face bandaged, M rs B etterton had arrived at the hotel, w here the m anager showed her to her

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room . W h en he had gone, H ilary lay dow n on the bed, th in k in g that O live B e tterton w ould need to rest.

O live B etterton’s passport now had H ila ry ’s photo on it and her signature was in H ila ry ’s handw riting . E verything was organized. B u t there w ere no letters o r messages for her at the hotel reception desk, and all O live B ette rton ’s tickets and travel plans w ere now out o f date.

T he real O live B etterton , however, had been in a plane crash. I f H ilary forgot any instructions or th ings she had to do next, she could blam e the concussion. All she could do now was to w ait and see i f any th ing happened.

In the evening, H ilary w ent dow nstairs to the hotel d in ing room . People stared at her and w hispered, obviously talk ing about the accident. A fter d inner H ilary sat in the lounge and picked up a m agazine. She w ondered if anyone w ould talk to her. T here w ere one or tw o o ther w om en sitting in the room , and soon a small, m iddle-aged w om an w ith b lue-tin ted hair m oved to sit near her. ‘Please excuse m e,’ the w om an said in a pleasant voice w ith an A m erican accent, ‘bu t are you the w om an w ho escaped from that plane crash? ’

H ila ry pu t dow n her m agazine. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I am .’‘T hat crash was terrib le!’ the w om an said. ‘C an I ask,

Miss — M rs . . .’‘B etterton ,’ said Hilary.‘C an I ask, M rs B etterton , i f you w ere sitting in the fron t or

the back o f the p lane?’H ilary knew the answ er to this question. ‘N ear the back,’ she

said.‘D id you hear that, Miss H e th e rin g to n ? ’ said the w om an,

tu rn in g to include ano ther m iddle-aged lady in the conversation. ‘T hey do say the back o f the plane is the safest place to be.

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Agatha Christie

I w on’t sit near the fron t again. Let m e in troduce myself,’ the w om an con tinued . ‘M y nam e is M rs B aker and this is Miss H eth erin g to n .’

H ilary politely said hello. ‘I’ve been travelling round M orocco,’ M rs B aker continued. ‘Are you plann ing to visit M arrakesh, M rs B e tte rto n ?’

‘Yes, I am ,’ said H ilary. ‘B u t I need to rebook m y tickets.’‘M arrakesh is very expensive,’ said Miss H ethering ton .

‘T ho ug h I have heard o f a nice hotel there — very clean and w ith good food.’

‘W here else are you going, M rs B etterton? ’ asked M rs Baker.‘I w ould like to see Fez,’ said H ilary carefully. ‘Have you

been there?’‘N o t yet. B ut I ’m p lann ing to go there soon, and so is Miss

H ethering ton ,’ said M rs Baker. ‘I believe the old city is well w o rth seeing.’

A fter the th ree w om en had talked a w hile longer, H ilary said she was tired and w en t upstairs to her room . H ad she achieved anything? She wasn’t sure. T he tw o w om en she had ju st talked to seemed so norm al, such typical travellers. She w ould see i f any th ing happened tom orrow .

T he nex t m o rn in g there were still no letters or messages, so H ilary decided to go to the travel agency to rebook her tickets. A fter w aiting in the queue, she finally reached the fron t desk and to ld the clerk her nam e.

‘A h yes, M adam e B etterton ,’ said the clerk. ‘W e received your telephone message and I have all y our new tickets and travel plans ready for you.’

H ilary was excited. She hadn’t phoned the travel agency. This was a definite sign that O live B e tte rton’s travel plans had been arranged by som eone else. O utside, H ila ry looked carefully at

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D estination U nk now n

her new tickets, and saw that she was booked to leave for Fez the nex t day.

Back at the hotel, H ilary d idn’t see M rs Baker again, and though she did see Miss H ethering ton , she d idn’t speak to her. A nd the nex t day H ilary left by tra in for Fez.

25

Chapter 6T he w eather was perfect - sunny and clear - as H ilary looked out o f the tra in w ind ow on her way to Fez. In her carriage was a small F renchm an w ho looked like a businessm an, a nu n and tw o M oroccan ladies w ith lots o f packages, w ho talked happily to each other.

T he Frenchm an offered to light H ilary’s cigarette, and soon he was talking about M orocco and telling H ilary about some o f the sights that they passed. H e was an interesting and intelligent man.

‘It m ust be a change for you,’ he said, ‘com ing here from England - so cold, so foggy, so unpleasant.’

‘Yes, it’s very different here,’ H ilary agreed.‘I m yself travelled from Paris th ree weeks ago. T here too

there was fog and rain, w hile here it is all sunshine. H o w was the w eather in E ngland w hen you left? ’

‘Like Paris,’ said H ilary. ‘It was foggy.’‘A h yes, it is the foggy season. A nd snow — have you had snow

this year? ’‘N o ,’ said H ilary, ‘there has been no snow.’ She was am used

that the F renchm an th ough t the English always talked about the weather.

T he jo u rn ey continued. T he tw o M oroccan ladies got off and o ther travellers go t on the train. It was evening w hen they arrived at Fez.

H ilary stood on the station platform , confused by the noise and the shouts o f all the porters w ho w anted to take her luggage. ‘Let m e help you, M adam e,’ said the F renchm an. ‘I believe you said you are staying at the Palais Jam ai? It is eight kilom etres from here.’

‘It’s no t in the tow n, then?’ H ilary asked.

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D estination U nknow n

‘It is by the old tow n ,’ the F renchm an explained. ‘M e, I am staying here in the city, bu t the Palais Jam ai is w here people go to relax. It has beautifu l gardens, and from there you can go straight to the old city o f Fez. I w ill arrange a tax i for you.’

‘You’re very k ind ,’ said H ila ry gratefully.T he Frenchm an arranged every th ing for her, and ju st before

she left, he gave H ilary his card, w hich read M onsieur Henri Laurier.H ilary sat nervously in the taxi. Was she really going to her

hotel or was this w here her jo u rn ey in to the un k n o w n began? B ut soon she did indeed arrive at the Palais Jamai', a lovely old M oroccan palace w ith a terrace overlooking a beautiful garden, full o f orange trees and scented flowers. H er room was decorated in eastern style, and was full o f m odern com forts.

Later H ilary enjoyed an excellent dinner and then had coffee outside on the terrace. There she noticed a very old m an w ith a yellow-tinted face and a small beard. T he hotel staff served him very attentively, taking away his em pty plates immediately and hurrying to his table as soon as he looked up. H ilary wondered w ho he was, bu t she was too tired to th ink about it and w ent to bed early.

T he nex t m orn in g H ilary sat outside in the sunshine under a red-striped um brella. It was strange to sit in such a peaceful place, pre tending to be a dead w om an. As she w atched children ru n up and dow n the terrace, H ilary cou ldn’t believe that anyth ing unusual was going to happen.

T he old m an w ith the yellow face cam e up to the terrace from the gardens below and sat dow n at a table nearby. W h en H ilary ordered a d rink , she asked the waiter, ‘W h o is that old m an over th ere?’

‘T hat, M adam e,’ the w aiter said quietly, ‘is M onsieur Aristides. H e is enorm ously rich.’ H ilary looked over at the old m an, ju s t as he too looked up. T hey stared at each o ther for a

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Agatha Christie

m om ent un til the old m an looked away. H ilary though t that M r A ristides’ eyes looked alive and intelligent.

Later in the afternoon, as H ilary was resting outside, a shadow suddenly appeared on her chair. She looked up, surprised, to see M r Aristides. H e was n o t look ing at H ilary, and w hen he tu rned round he accidentally knocked her glass o ff the table.

A h , pardon m e, M adam e,’ M r Aristides said politely. H ilary sm iled and said in French that it d id no t m atter. M r Aristides then to ld the w aiter to b rin g her ano ther drink , before he apologized again and w ent in to the restaurant.

W h en the w aiter b rough t her d rink , H ila ry asked h im if M r Aristides was alone at the hotel.

T he w aiter was shocked. ‘O h , no, M adam e,’ he said. ‘M onsieur Aristides is so rich that he never travels alone. H e has a personal servant, tw o secretaries and a driver.’ B u t w hen she w en t in to the restaurant H ilary no ticed that the old m an sat by himself.

T he afternoon passed very pleasantly. H ila ry w alked th rough the beautiful gardens, looking at the oranges and sm elling the different flowers. T he place was very peaceful, and H ilary w ished she could stay for ever. It was strange that she had found peace at last, ju s t w hen she was starting a dangerous adventure. B ut perhaps there was no danger and no adventure . . .

W hen she w ent back inside the hotel late in the afternoon, H ilary was surprised to m eet M rs Baker in the lounge. ‘I’ve just arrived by plane,’ M rs Baker explained. ‘Trains are so slow, and the people in them aren’t always very clean. N o w tell m e w hat you’ve been doing, M rs B etterton. Have you seen the old tow n yet?’

‘N o, I ’m afraid I haven’t,’ said H ilary, sm iling. ‘I ’ve ju s t been sitting in the sun.’

‘O h , yes, you’ve ju s t com e out o f hospital,’ said M rs Baker. ‘I suppose you m ust be tired. I never feel tired. D o you rem em ber

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Miss H ethering ton , the E nglishw om an at Casablanca? She’ll be arriv ing here this evening. She prefers to travel by tra in — or perhaps th a t’s all she can afford. N o w I m ust go and sort ou t m y room — I d idn’t like the one they first gave m e.’ M rs Baker left, energetic as always.

H ila ry saw Miss H etherin g to n in the d in ing room that evening, and then she and the tw o new arrivals had coffee together. Miss H ethering ton had discovered that a rich Swedish businessm an was staying at the hotel w ith a blonde film star.

‘A nd they’re no t m arried ,’ she said excitedly. ‘T h ere ’s so m uch o f that k ind o f th in g abroad. T h ere ’s a nice French fam ily at the table by the w indow , though o f course French children are allow ed to stay up far too late. T h e ir parents even let them d rin k wine! She sounded horrified.

M eanw hile, M rs Baker was m aking plans for the next day. ‘I ’ve been to the old city before,’ she said. ‘It was very in teresting bu t I was glad I had a guide w ith me. A ll those tw isting streets — w ith ou t h im I w ould have becom e very lost. O f course he took m e to a frien d ’s house — they always do — and w anted m e to buy lots o f souvenirs. I had to be quite firm .’

Miss H etherin g to n sighed. ‘It w ould be nice to buy souvenirs, bu t they’re so expensive,’ she said sadly.

29

Chapter 7

Fortunately H ilary was able to visit the old city o f Fez w ithou t Miss H etherin g to n or M rs Baker, w ho had gone on a sightseeing trip by car - for w hich M rs Baker paid. W ith her guide, H ilary w alked dow n th ro ug h the gardens o f the hotel un til they reached a big door in the wall. A nd th rough that door H ila ry stepped in to another w orld — the old city o f Fez.

H ilary w andered th rough the narrow , tw isting streets, interested in everything she saw. She enjoyed look ing around her at the busy life o f the M oroccan city. T he only annoyance was her guide, w ho talked all the tim e, asking h er to buy things. ‘You look, lady,’ he kept saying. ‘T his m an have very nice things, very cheap.’

H ilary w alked for w hat seem ed like hours, un til finally her guide said, ‘I take you to very nice house now, lady. Friends o f m ine. You have tea and they show you m any nice th ings.’ Because she was tired , H ilary allow ed herself to be taken to an attractive house outside the city walls. H ere she drank m in t tea and, to be polite, bough t a few small souvenirs.

‘N o w I take you for a nice drive to see very beautifu l views,’ said her guide. ‘A nd then back to hotel. B u t first, this girl w ill take you to very nice ladies’ toilet.’

Sm iling a little, H ilary followed the girl to the toilet, w hich she was pleased to find had ru n n in g water. B u t w hen she had washed her hands H ilary found that she cou ldn’t open the door. W h y had she been locked in? T hen she no ticed another door in the corner o f the room . T his door opened easily and H ilary

I

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w alked in to a small room lit by h igh w indow s. Sitting on an eastern-style chair was the little F renchm an she had m et in the train — M onsieur H en ri Laurier.

II

‘G ood afternoon, M rs B etterton ,’ he said.For a m om ent H ilary was too surprised to speak. So this -

this was it! T his was w hat she had been w aiting for. She stepped forw ard. ‘D o you have news for me? C an you help m e?’

H e nodded. ‘O n the train , M adam e, you w ere rather stupid. O r perhaps you always talk about the w eather.’

T he weather? She stared at h im . W h at had he said about the weather? Cold? Fog? Snow?

Snow — that was it. O live B ette rton had talked about snow. W h at was the silly rhym e she had said? H ilary rem em bered. ‘Snow, snow, beautiful snow! You slip on a lump, and over you g o !’ she repeated to Laurier.

‘Exactly,’ said Laurier. ‘W h y did you no t follow your instructions and say that before?’

‘You don’t understand,’ said H ilary. ‘I was in a plane crash and I’ve been in hospital w ith concussion. It has affected my m em ory and I’ve forgotten a lo t o f im portan t th ings.’

‘Yes,’ said Laurier, ‘the plane crash was unfortunate.’ H is voice was cold. ‘B u t are you now ready to continue your jo u rn ey ?’

‘O f course I am ,’ said Hilary. ‘I must see m y husband . . .’H e sm iled, bu t no t a very pleasant smile. ‘You were questioned

by the B ritish authorities,’ he said. ‘D o you th in k they suspect you?’

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Agatha C hristie

‘I don’t know ,’ said H ilary. ‘T hey seemed satisfied, bu t I have the feeling that I ’m being followed.’

‘W e know that,’ said Laurier, coldly. ‘W e are no t stupid.’‘I’m sorry,’ said H ilary. ‘I ’m afraid it’s m e w ho is stupid.’‘It does n o t m atter i f you are stupid, as long as you do as you

are told — as long as you obey.’‘I w ill obey,’ said H ilary quietly.‘N ow , M adam e, I w ill give you your instructions,’ said Laurier.

‘T he day after tom orrow you w ill fly back to M arrakesh. T here you w ill receive a message telling you to go back to E ngland.’

‘I am going back to England? ’‘Please listen — I have n o t finished. You w ill book a seat on the

plane leaving for Casablanca the next day. D o you understand?’ ‘I understand,’ said Hilary.‘T hen please re tu rn to your guide — you have been in here

long enough. B u t before you go, I believe that you have becom e friendly w ith an A m erican w om an and an E nglishw om an at your ho tel?’

‘Yes - is that w ron g?’‘N o, it fits in w ith ou r plans. See i f one or o ther o f them will

com e w ith you to M arrakesh. Goodbye, M adam e.’H ilary w ent back to her guide. ‘I have very nice car w aiting,’

he said. ‘I take you now for very pleasant drive.’

‘So you’re leaving for M arrakesh tom orrow ,’ said Miss H ethering ton . ‘You haven’t stayed very long in Fez, have you?’

‘N o ,’ agreed H ilary, ‘bu t m y tickets are booked now and I th in k it w ill be too difficult to change them again — there are so m any other people travelling.’

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‘N o t English people,’ said Miss H etherin g to n sadly. ‘T hey all seem to be French.’

H ilary sm iled faintly. T he fact that M orocco was controlled by the French did no t seem to m atter to Miss H ethering ton .

‘T here are a lo t o f G erm ans and Swedish people here, too ,’ added M rs Baker, ‘and I’m told that that little old m an over there is Greek. H e seems to be im portan t — o r at least the waiters th in k he is.’

‘I w ish you tw o w ould com e to M arrakesh w ith m e,’ said Hilary. ‘I t’s been so pleasant ta lk ing to you here, and it’s very lonely travelling by myself.’

‘B ut I’ve been to M arrakesh,’ said Miss H etherin g to n in a shocked voice.

M rs Baker, however, seemed interested. ‘T h a t’s quite a good idea,’ she said. ‘I ’d like to go back to M arrakesh, and I can show you around. I’ll go and see i f I can arrange it.’ She stood up and hu rried o ff w ith her usual energy.

‘T h a t’s ju st like Am ericans,’ said Miss H ethering ton , annoyed. ‘T hey always rush from place to place. Som etim es I don’t th in k they know w hat coun try they’re in .’ She picked up her k n ittin g and said goodbye to H ilary before going upstairs.

H ilary sat alone in the hotel lounge. She was th in k in g about the future. N o w she was going to start her real journey , so she m ust be very careful and not m ake any mistakes. She m ust be O live B etterton , devoted to her husband.

H ila ry ju m p ed in surprise as she saw the small, w rin k led face o f M r Aristides suddenly appear before her. H e bow ed politely and asked i f he could sit down. A fter a m om ent or tw o he asked, ‘D o you like this country, M adam e?’

‘I ’ve been here only a short tim e,’ said H ilary, ‘bu t yes, I love it. A nd the old city o f Fez is w onderful.’

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‘Yes, it is w onderful,’ he agreed. ‘T here everything is dark and secret, shut in beh ind narrow streets and walls. D o you know w hat I th in k of, M adam e, w hen I w alk th rough the streets o f Fez?’

‘N o .’‘I th ink o f that m ain road into London, the Great W est Road.

I th ink o f the great factory buildings on each side o f the road, brightly lit, so you can clearly see all the people inside as you drive along in your car. There is no th ing hidden, there is no th ing secret.’

‘So you m ean,’ said H ilary, thoughtfu lly , ‘that you are interested in the contrast betw een them — Fez and the road in London? Because they are so different?’

M r Aristides nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘B u t although they look so different, the same th ings happen in b o th places. There is always cruelty and there is always kindness. O n e or the other. Som etimes bo th .’ H e continued w ith ou t changing his m anner. ‘I have been told, M adam e, that you w ere in a very bad plane accident? I envy you.’

H ilary looked at h im w ith astonishm ent.‘Yes,’ he repeated, ‘I envy you. You have com e close to death,

and yet you survived. D o you feel different since then, M adam e?’ ‘O n ly in a bad way,’ said H ilary. ‘I had concussion, and so I

get headaches and forget things easily.’‘Those th ings w ill get better,’ said M r Aristides, w ith a wave

o f his hand, ‘bu t you — you have had an adventure o f the spirit, have you not? ’

‘It is true ,’ said H ilary slowly, th in k in g o f her pile o f sleeping pills. ‘I have had an adventure o f the spirit.’

‘I have never had that experience,’ said M r Aristides in a dissatisfied voice. ‘So m any other th ings, bu t no t that.’ H e stood up and bow ed politely. ‘Goodbye, M adam e,’ he said, and left H ilary sitting alone once again.

34

Chapter 8‘All airports are strangely alike,’ th ou gh t H ilary, as she w aited for the plane to M arrakesh. ‘A nd w hy do you have to get there m uch too early?’

They had been sitting in the w aiting room for nearly an hour. M rs Baker, w ho had decided to come w ith Hilary, had been talking for the w hole time. Now, thankfully, she was talking to tw o other travellers w ho w ere sitting near her. T hey were bo th tall young m en w ith fair hair. O ne was an A m erican w ith a big friendly smile, and the o ther was a rather serious-looking N orw egian, w ho talked slowly in careful English. T he Am erican was clearly delighted to find another traveller from his ow n country.

M rs Baker tu rn ed to H ilary. ‘M r —?’ she said. ‘I’d like you to m eet m y friend, M rs B etterton .’

‘M y nam e’s A ndrew Peters,’ said the A m erican. ‘M y friends call m e Andy.’

T he o ther young m an stood up and bow ed rather stiffly. ‘M y nam e is Torquil Ericsson,’ he said.

‘N o w w e all know each other,’ said M rs Baker happily.Suddenly the loudspeaker gave an announcem ent in French

telling them that they could now board the plane. As w ell as H ilary and M rs Baker, there w ere four o ther passengers - Peters, Ericsson, a tall, th in F renchm an and a stern-look ing nun.

It was a clear, sunny day, good for flying, and H ilary sat back in her seat and looked at her fellow passengers. M rs Baker was reading a m agazine. N o w and then she tapped the shoulder o f the fair young A m erican, Peters, w ho was sitting in fron t o f her. H e always tu rn ed round w ith a smile, responding to M rs B aker’s rem arks w ith enthusiasm. ‘H o w friendly Am ericans are,’ though t H ilary. ‘N o t like the English.’

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Sitting across from her was the N orw egian , Torquil Ericsson. As she looked at h im , he nodded and offered her his m agazine to read. H ila ry thanked h im and took it.

In the seat beh ind Ericsson sat the th in Frenchm an. H is legs were stretched ou t and he seemed to be asleep. T h en H ilary looked beh ind her at the stern-looking nun , w ho looked back at H ilary w ith no expression on her face. She sat very still.

‘Six different people,’ thought Hilary, ‘travelling together for a few hours and then separating, never to m eet again . . .’ She closed her eyes and thought again about the instructions she had been given. W h y was she going back to England? D idn’t they trust her — had she m ade a mistake? O r was it because she was being watched? To get hom e she w ould have to stop in Paris — and Tom B etterton had disappeared in Paris. Was the same th ing going to happen to her? A t last she grew tired o f th inking, and fell asleep.

W h en she w oke up the plane was flying in circles, preparing to land. H ilary looked ou t o f the w indow , b u t she cou ldn’t see an airfield below her. N o r could she see any houses or a to w n — just desert. T his w asn’t M arrakesh. W here w ere they?

T he plane landed w ith a bum p, in the m iddle o f nowhere. T he pilot asked them all to get out. H ad som eth ing gone w rong w ith the plane, H ilary wondered?

O utside, the w ind blew cold from the snow -topped m ountains in the distance. T he pilo t asked them to wait, and soon they saw a vehicle m oving slowly towards them . It was a big car — a station w agon.

‘B ut w hy have w e landed here?’ asked H ilary. ‘W h a t’s the m atter? D id the engine fail?’

A ndy Peters sm iled cheerfully. ‘I don’t th in k so,’ he said. ‘B ut I ’m sure th a t’s w hat they’ll say.’

H ilary stared at h im , puzzled.

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D estination U nknow n

T h e station w agon arrived and the M oroccan driver got out. T ogether w ith the p ilo t — and w ith help from Ericsson and Peters — they lifted ou t a large, heavy crate from the back o f the car. As they w en t to open it, M rs B aker led H ilary away. ‘D o n ’t w atch, m y dear. I t’s never a nice th in g to see.’ T he F renchm an and Peters follow ed them .

‘Are you D r B arron?’ M rs Baker asked the Frenchm an.‘I am .’ T he F renchm an bowed.‘I’m pleased to m eet you,’ said M rs Baker, shaking his hand as

i f she was w elcom ing h im to a party.‘I don’t understand,’ said H ilary. ‘W h a t’s in that crate? W h y

is it be tte r n o t to look? ’Andy Peters looked at her - he had a nice face, H ilary thought.

‘T here are bodies in the crate,’ Peters said. ‘T he pilo t told m e.’ ‘B odies!’ She stared at him .‘O h , they w eren’t m urdered or anyth ing ,’ he smiled. ‘T h ey ’re

dead bodies used for m edical research.’B ut H ilary still stared. ‘I still don’t understand,’ she said.‘You see, M rs B etterton , this is w here the jo u rn ey ends,’

explained Peters. ‘T hey ’ll arrange the bodies in the plane and then set it on fire. People w ill th in k that another plane has crashed, w ith no survivors!’

‘B ut why? ’ said Hilary.‘D o n ’t you know ,’ said D r B arron, ‘w here we are go ing?’‘O f course she know s,’ said M rs Baker cheerfully. ‘B ut I don’t

th in k she expected it to happen quite so soon.’H ila ry said w ith surprise, ‘B u t you m ean — all o f us?’ She

looked round.‘W e’re fellow-travellers.’ said Peters gently.T he young N orw egian, Torquil Ericsson, nodded in agreement.

‘Yes, w e are all fellow-travellers,’ he said w ith enthusiasm.

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Chapter 9

T he pilo t approached them . ‘You m ust leave now, please,’ he said. ‘W e have m uch to do, and w e are already late.’

H ilary stepped back and nervously pu t her hand up to her throat. T he necklace o f pearls that she was w earing broke under her fingers, and she quickly picked up the loose pearls and put them in her pocket.

T hey all got in to the station w agon, w here H ila ry sat betw een Peters and M rs Baker. ‘So — so you are in charge o f organizing us all?’ H ilary asked M rs Baker.

‘T h a t’s righ t,’ M rs Baker replied. ‘It’s quite natural for an A m erican w om an to travel around a lot.’

M rs Baker still looked the same, bu t H ila ry though t that she acted differently — she was m ore efficient, and perhaps m ore ruthless.

‘T he newspapers w ill say that you w ere very unlucky, dear,’ added M rs Baker. ‘N early dying in one plane crash and then being killed so soon in another.’

‘W h o are these o ther people?’ H ilary asked quietly.‘T hey’re all scientists,’ M rs Baker replied. ‘I don’t really

understand w hat they all do, bu t D r B arron works w ith viruses and diseases, M r Ericsson is a brillian t physicist and M r Peters is a nuclear chem ist. A nd Miss N eedheim , o f course, isn’t a nun. She’s a G erm an biologist. M e, I’m ju st the organizer — I don’t belong w ith the scientists.’ She laughed. ‘T h a t H ethering ton w om an never had a chance.’

‘Miss H etherin g to n?’ said Hilary. ‘Was she . . . ?’

I

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D estination U nknow n

M rs Baker nodded. ‘She was follow ing you,’ she said. ‘B ut it w ould have been out o f character i f she had com e back to M arrakesh so soon. She’ll tell som eone new to follow you from M arrakesh w hen you arrive. B u t o f course you w o n’t arrive! ’ She laughed again, ju st as they heard a sudden loud noise. ‘A h, look! T h a t’s the plane.’

T hey had been driv ing across the desert, and w hen H ilary looked back she saw a big yellow glow beh ind them . T he plane had exploded and was on fire.

A ndy Peters laughed. ‘Six people die w hen plane to M arrakesh crashes!’

‘I t’s — it’s rather frightening,’ said H ila ry quietly.‘Travelling to an un kn ow n destination?’ Peters said. H e was

serious now. ‘Yes, bu t it’s the only way. W e’re leaving the past beh ind and are stepping out towards the fu tu re.’ H e spoke w ith sudden enthusiasm . ‘W e have to leave the old bad things behind. T he new w orld o f science w ill be clean and clear! ’

H ila ry to ok a deep breath. ‘T h a t’s the k ind o f th in g m y husband says,’ she replied carefully.

‘Y our husband? ’ said Peters. ‘Is your husband Tom B etterton? ’ H ilary nodded.‘T h a t’s great,’ said Peters. ‘I’ve never m et h im , bu t o f course I

know about Z E Fission. H e w orked w ith D r M annheim , d idn’t he? I th ou gh t he m arried M an nh eim ’s daughter.’

‘I’m his second w ife,’ said H ilary, her face a little red. ‘H e — his — Elsa died in A m erica.’

‘I rem em ber now ,’ said Peters. ‘H e w en t to w o rk in E ng land b u t he disappeared from Paris. E very th ing is very w ell organ ized .’

H ila ry agreed w ith him . Secretly she was w orried. T here was no trail for anyone to follow, and all the codes and signs she

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Agatha Christie

had learned w ere now useless. She was indeed on her way to an u n kn ow n destination, and there was n o th in g to show w here she had gone. A ll there was to find was a b u rn t plane and six dead bodies. W ould Jessop guess that she wasn’t dead?

T hey drove on. N igh t fell and still they drove on th rough the desert. T he g rou nd was rough and bum py, and they were obviously no t on a m ain road.

For a long tim e H ilary sat still, thoughts tu rn in g in her head, bu t at last she was too tired to stay awake any longer. She let her eyes close and fell in to an uneasy sleep.

II

T he car had stopped. ‘W ake up,’ Peters said gently to Hilary. ‘W e’ve arrived som ew here.’

Everyone got ou t o f the station w agon, tired and stiff. It was still dark, bu t in fron t o f them they could see a house surrounded by palm trees, and H ila ry could see the lights from a village in the distance. Inside the house they w ere greeted by tw o laughing local M oroccan w om en, w ho led them upstairs. T he m en w ent to one room , w hile the three w om en w ere taken in to a small room w ith th ree mattresses on the floor.

‘M y body’s so stiff,’ com plained M rs Baker. ‘T hat car was very uncom fortable on that bum py road.’

‘D iscom fort does no t m atter,’ said Miss N eedheim , the nun. H er voice was harsh and confident and she spoke English well, though w ith a strong foreign accent. ‘It is weakness. W h en you are strong, no th ing is too m uch to suffer.’

‘Well, all I w ant now is a comfortable bed,’ said M rs Baker, yawning. ‘A nd I’m sure that jo urney hasn’t helped your concussion, has it, Mrs B etterton?’

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D estination U nknow n

‘N o, it hasn’t,’ H ilary agreed.‘T h ey ’ll b ring us som ething to eat soon,’ said M rs Baker, ‘and

then I’ll give you some m edicine to help your headache.’Sure enough, the tw o local w om en soon brough t them a tray

o f food and som e w ater to wash w ith . T hey stood and looked at H ila ry ’s E uropean clothes, laughing and talk ing to each other, un til M rs Baker w aved them away.

‘Silly th ings,’ said M rs Baker, ‘I suppose all they are interested in is clothes and babies.’

‘It is all they are fit for,’ said Miss N eedheim . ‘T hey are slaves, and their only use is to serve.’

‘T h a t’s very unfair,’ said H ilary, annoyed by the w om an’s attitude.

‘I only speak the tru th . There are a few people w ho rule — and there are m any w ho serve.’

‘B ut surely . . .’M rs Baker in terrupted . ‘It is tim e to rest now,’ she said firmly,

and after they had eaten some food and washed, the three w om en lay dow n to sleep.

T hey slept late the nex t day, and w hen they woke up, M rs Baker gave them some M oroccan clothes to wear. She explained that they had to leave their E uropean clothes behind.

N o w that Miss N eedheim was no longer dressed as a nun, H ilary could see her properly. T he G erm an w om an was about th ir ty -th ree and looked very neat. B u t her pale face and cold eyes w ere n o t attractive. She was arrogan t, and acted as i f H ilary and M rs B aker w ere no t good enough to talk to her. H ilary m uch preferred the laughing local w om en.

A nd M rs B aker — she was still ta lk ing norm ally about everyday things, b u t H ila ry now realized that the A m erican w om an was ju st like an actor p laying a part. She had no idea w hat M rs Baker was really th in k in g or feeling.

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In the evening they carried on their journey , this tim e in an open to u ring car. Everyone was w earing M oroccan clothes: the m en in long w hite robes and the w om en w ith their faces hidden. A gain, they drove all th ro ug h the night, and stopped for breakfast w hen the sun cam e up.

‘H o w are you feeling, M rs B etterton?’ asked A ndy Peters.‘I feel as i f I’m in a dream ,’ said H ilary. ‘W h ere are w e?’‘I don’t know ,’ he replied. ‘All I know is that w e’re in the

desert. A nd in the desert w e w on’t leave a trail beh ind us. Each part o f our jo u rn ey is separate — a plane that crashes, a station w agon and now a to u rin g car o f M oroccans, w hich is a com m on sight on the road.’

‘B ut w here are w e go ing?’ said Hilary.‘W e’ll find ou t soon,’ said D r B arron as he jo in ed them . ‘In

the W estern w orld w e always w ant to know th ings now. W e th in k about to m orrow rather than today. B u t life is too short. T here is so m uch to achieve and there is n o t enough tim e. I need m ore tim e for m y w o rk !’ he said w ith passion. ‘A nd I need freedom — freedom from fools w ho constantly in te rru p t m e and m y w ork!’

‘You w ork w ith viruses, don’t you, D r B arro n?’ Peters asked. ‘Yes, I w ork w ith diseases. A nd to w ork properly, I need

patience, and a lo t o f m oney for equipm ent. W ith that, I can achieve any th ing !’

‘C an you achieve happiness?’ asked H ila ry w ith a smile.H e sm iled back, suddenly hum an again. ‘A h, you are a

w om an, M adam e. It is w om en w ho ask always for happiness.’ ‘T he happiness o f one person does no t m atter,’ said Peters

seriously. ‘T here m ust be happiness for all people! Science should be used to help everyone, and it should be shared, no t controlled by one country or another.’

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D estination U nknow n

‘Yes!’ said Ericsson, w ho had ju st jo in ed them , ‘you are right. But the scientists m ust be the masters — they are the only people w ho m atter. T hey m ust control and ru le the slaves.’

H ilary w alked a little way away from the group, and after a few m inutes, Peters followed her.

‘You look a bit scared,’ he said w ith a laugh.‘I th in k I am ,’ said Hilary. ‘O f course I ’m no t a scientist,

and I ’m no t very clever like the rest o f you. I’m only a w om an, looking for happiness.’

‘A nd w h at’s w ron g w ith that?’ said Peters. T hen he asked, in a low er voice, ‘W h y exactly are you here? D o you love your husband so m uch? O r do you share his view s?’

H ilary avoided giving a d irect answer. ‘Have you noticed that all ou r fellow-travellers have very different view s?’

Peters th ou gh t for a m om ent. ‘I do believe you’re righ t,’ he said.

‘D r B arron is only interested in his w ork ,’ said H ilary, ‘w hile H elga N eedheim talks about slaves, and so does Torquil Ericsson — they are like m ad scientists in a film !’

‘A nd I believe in freedom for all,’ said Peters. ‘Y ou’re a loving wife, and M rs B aker — well, I th in k she’s ju st doing this for the m oney.’

‘She seems so ordinary,’ said H ilary, ‘and yet she’s m ixed up in all th is.’ She shivered suddenly.

‘Are you cold?’ asked Peters. ‘Let’s m ove around for a bit.’As they w alked up and dow n, Peters suddenly picked up

som ething from the ground.‘Is this yours?’ he said.‘O h , yes,’ H ila ry replied. ‘It’s a pearl from m y necklace. I

broke it the o ther day — it seems a long tim e ago now.’ She took the pearl from Peters.

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Agatha C hristie

‘N o t real pearls, I hope.’‘N o, o f course no t,’ sm iled Hilary.Peters offered her a cigarette. As she took one, H ilary said,

‘W h at a strange cigarette case. It’s very heavy.’‘It’s m ade o f lead, th a t’s why,’ Peters explained. ‘It’s a w ar

souvenir — m ade from a bom b that tried to blow m e up. B ut le t’s no t talk about the w ar — le t’s talk about tom orrow .’

‘But w hat can w e talk about?’ asked H ilary. ‘N o bo dy’s told m e anything. Are w e . . . ?’

Peters in terru p ted her. ‘You don’t need to know. You ju st need to do w hat you’re to ld and go w here you’re told. You need to obey.’

W ith sudden passion H ilary said, ‘A nd do you like being given orders and to ld w hat to do?’

‘I f it is necessary, yes,’ he replied. ‘A nd it is necessary. W e m ust have a new w orld, a peaceful w orld — a w orld w ith order and discipline!’

‘Is that possible?’‘A nyth ing’s b e tte r than the mess we live in — don’t you agree?’ H ilary was tired and lonely. She w an ted to say, ‘W h a t’s so

w ron g w ith the w orld w e live in? Surely i t ’s be tte r to have a w orld w here there is kindness and independence — even if it is a mess — rather than an ordered w orld w ith no pity or understanding or sympathy! ’

B ut she stopped herself in tim e. ‘Y ou’re righ t,’ she said. ‘I’m ju st tired. I ’ll do w hat I ’m told. I w ill obey.’

Andy Peters smiled. ‘T h a t’s better,’ he said.

44

Chapter 10As their jo u rn ey continued, H ilary felt that she was liv ing in a dream , as i f she really was becom ing O live B etterton . Every day she becam e m ore and m ore serious and in tense, like her com panions. A ll five w ere so different, bu t slowly H ilary becam e a little frightened o f all o f them . T hey w ere all so determ ined and focused on one th in g — they all had one th ing that they believed in passionately, above all else.

D r B arro n cared only about his w ork . H e was desperate for know ledge, to find th ings out. B u t he never asked h im self why. It was the process o f discovery that in terested h im . H e to ld H ila ry once th a t he had found a v irus w ith the pow er to destroy a w hole country , bu t he was in terested in how it w ou ld destroy — he d id n o t seem to th in k about the people the v irus w ould kill.

She d idn’t like Helga N eedheim at all, because the w om an was so very arrogant. H ilary liked Peters bu t som etim es he frightened her by the alm ost fanatical way he talked. She said to h im once, ‘You don’t w ant to create a new w orld, do you? You just w an t to destroy the old one. T h ere’s hate in you. I can feel it.’

T orquil Ericsson was m ore o f a puzzle. H e liked to dream o f how he w an ted the w orld to be. ‘W e m ust take over the w orld,’ he said gently, ‘so w e — the people w ith brains — can rule. T hat is all that m atters.’

T hey are all m ad, H ilary thought, bu t in different ways. T hen she looked at M rs Baker. She w asn’t interested in ru ling the w orld. She d idn’t seem to believe in any th ing at all - except perhaps money.

A t the end o f the th ird day o f travelling, they arrived at a small tow n and slept in a local ho tel for the night. Very early the next

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Agatha C hristie

m orn ing they w ere given European clothes to w ear and drove to an airfield. T here they boarded a small plane and flew for hours. H ilary looked ou t o f the w indow and saw m ountains th rough the clouds, bu t she had no idea w here they were.

In the early afternoon, the plane landed on flat ground surrounded by m ountains. T hey had arrived at a private airfield w here there w ere tw o big cars w aiting for them .

‘This is w here the jo u rn ey ends,’ said M rs Baker cheerfully. ‘T he cars w ill be ready soon.’

H ilary stared at her. ‘B ut we haven’t crossed the sea,’ she said in surprise.

‘D id you expect to ? ’ M rs Baker seem ed amused.‘B ut w here are w e — w hat part o f the w orld, I m ean? ’‘O h , th a t’s no secret now. This is a lonely place in the H igh

Atlas m ountains. W e’re still in M orocco.’ M rs Baker looked at her watch. ‘W ell, goodbye, everyone,’ she said. ‘T his is w here I leave you.’

A re you going back to M arrakesh?’ asked H ilary.‘N o ,’ said M rs Baker, ‘I can’t do that. I ’m supposed to have

died in a plane crash. I ’m going to organize people som ew here else now.’

‘But w hat i f som eone recognizes yo u?’ H ilary asked.‘T hey w o n’t,’ said M rs Baker. ‘I have a new passport now. M y

sister, M rs Baker, died in a plane crash - w e look very alike. A nd no one I m et know s m e that well,’ she added. ‘To them I’m just ano ther travelling A m erican.’

‘It’s strange,’ H ilary said, ‘that even after travelling w ith you for so long I don’t know you very well. I don’t even know w hich part o f Am erica you’re from .’

‘T hat doesn’t m atter,’ said M rs Baker. ‘I can never go back there.’ For a m om ent her face looked angry and spiteful. T hen

4 6

D estination U nknow n

she said cheerfully, ‘G oodbye, M rs B etterton . I hope you see your husband soon.’

H ilary w atched as M rs Baker said goodbye to the others before going back to the plane. H ilary shivered. M rs Baker was her last link w ith the outside w orld. Peters, standing near her, seem ed to know w hat she was th ink ing .

‘This is the place o f no re tu rn ,’ he said quietly.‘D o you w an t to go back, M adam e?’ asked D r Barron. ‘Back

to the w orld you have left?’‘C ould I go i f I w anted to ? ’ asked H ilary.‘I don’t know ,’ said Peters. ‘Shall I ask M rs Baker before she

leaves?’‘O f course no t,’ said H ilary sharply.‘T his is no place for w om en w ho are w eak,’ said Helga

N eedheim scornfully.‘She is n o t w eak,’ said D r B arron softly. ‘She asks herself

questions as any in telligent w om an w ould do.’ B ut Helga N eedheim ignored the Frenchm an, w hile Ericsson asked, ‘W h en you have reached freedom , how can you th in k o f going back? ’

‘B u t i f you can’t go back, or choose to go back,’ argued H ilary, ‘then it is n o t freedom !’

T hey w ere in terru p ted by one o f the drivers telling them that the cars w ere ready. H ilary sat in the fron t nex t to the driver, and talked to h im in French as they drove along.

‘H o w long w ill it take us?’ she asked.‘To get to the hospital? A bout tw o hours, M adam e.’H ila ry was surprised at the driver’s words. ‘Tell me about the

hospital,’ she said.A h , M adam e, it is a w onderful place,’ the driver said w ith

enthusiasm . ‘It has all the m ost m odern equipm ent and m any doctors com e to visit and are very im pressed by the new

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Agatha C hristie

treatm ents. Before, such people had to live com pletely separate and were left to die, bu t now they have a chance o f a cu re .’

‘It seems a lonely place to have a hospital,’ said Hilary.‘Ah, M adam e, bu t it has to be lonely — the authorities insist,’

said the driver. ‘See, over there,’ he po in ted . ‘T ha t is w here we are going.’

In the distance H ila ry saw a low range o f m ountains, and at the bo ttom o f one o f the m ountains was a long w hite building.

‘It is a w onderful place,’ said the driver again. ‘So m uch m oney has been spent. O u r patron is one o f the richest m en in the w orld, and here he has done so m uch to help hum an suffering.’

At last the car stopped outside some huge iron gates. ‘You m ust w alk from here, M adam e,’ explained the driver. As the travellers got out o f the car, the big gates opened and a tall, dark- skinned m an w earing long w hite robes bow ed and asked them to enter.

As they w alked th ro ug h the gates they saw a large courtyard w ith a tall w ire fence, w here people w ere w alk ing up and dow n. As these people tu rn ed to look at the new arrivals, H ilary gasped in horror.

‘B ut they’re lepers!’ she exclaim ed. ‘Lepers!’

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Chapter 11T he huge iron gates closed firm ly beh ind the travellers. To H ilary this felt like the end — there was no way out. N o w she was alone, and soon she w ould be discovered . . .

She had kn ow n all day that this m om ent w ould come. Jessop had said that i f she got this far, she w ould have protection , bu t i f she was supposed to rely on Miss H etherin g to n , that plan had failed. A nd w hat, though t H ilary, could Miss H etherin g to n have done to help her now?

N o w th a t she was close to discovery and death, H ilary realized th a t she no longer w an ted to die. She was enjoying life again. She could th in k o f N igel and B renda w ith sadness and pity, n o t cold lifeless despair. ‘I ’m alive again at last,’ th ou gh t H ilary. ‘B u t now I ’m trapped — like a rat in a trap. C an I find a way ou t? ’

She had often though t about w hat w ould happen w hen she m et T om B etterton . H e w ould say, ‘T h a t’s no t m y wife —’ and everyone w ould know she was a spy. So w hat could she do?

Perhaps she could speak first? She could say, ‘W h o are you? You’re n o t m y husband!’ I f she pretended well enough, w ould they believe her? I f they did believe her, it w ould be bad for B etterton . B u t i f he was a traitor w ho had sold his co u n try ’s secrets, d idn’t he deserve it? This was the only th ing she could th in k o f that was w o rth trying.

H ila ry had been th in k in g all this as she w alked along. She felt a little faint bu t tried hard to focus on w hat was happening. T hey w ere being w elcom ed by a big handsom e m an, w ho spoke a few words to everyone in their ow n language.

To H ilary, he said, ‘A h, M rs B etterton , welcom e, after your long and difficult journey . Y our husband is w aiting for you, very

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excited.’ H e sm iled, th ou gh H ilary noticed that his eyes stayed cold. ‘You m ust be long ing to see h im .’

H ilary suddenly felt faint again, and A ndy Peters pu t ou t an arm and steadied her as she swayed. ‘Perhaps you don’t know ,’ he said, ‘that M rs B e tte rton was in a plane crash and has concussion. T he jo u rn ey has been hard for her — she should lie dow n.’

H ilary thought how k ind he was, and she held on to his arm for support. She w anted to faint, to lie dow n — anything to delay the m om ent o f discovery! But B etterton w ould come to see her — any husband w ould — and he w ould realize that she was no t his wife.

T hen suddenly H ila ry ’s courage re turned . She stood up straight and lifted her head. She w ould be brave. She w ould say to B etterton , ‘I ’m sorry, bu t your w ife is dead. I prom ised to reach you and give you her final message. I agree w ith your views and I w ant to help.’

It w asn’t a very convincing story - and it d idn’t explain things like her fake passport. ‘B ut som etim es,’ th ough t H ilary, ‘i f you tell lies w ith enough confidence, people do believe you. I have to try.’

‘O h, no. I m ust see Tom ,’ she said. ‘I m ust see h im n o w —please.’ ‘O f course, M rs B etterton ,’ said the big m an. ‘I’ll take you to

h im now. Please follow m e.’As she w alked away, H ilary looked over her shoulder. A ndy

Peters was w atching her, and his face looked puzzled and unhappy. ‘H e has realized som ething is w rong ,’ she thought, ‘bu t he doesn’t know w hat it is.’ H ilary shivered. She m ight never see h im again.

T he big m an was talk ing cheerfully. ‘T his way, M rs B etterton . O u r buildings are rather confusing at first. T here are so m any w hite corridors that all look the same.’

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‘It’s all a little strange - and rather frigh ten ing ,’ said H ilary. ‘T he lepers . . .’

‘Yes, yes, o f course. T hey do upset our new arrivals. But you’ll get used to them . By the way, m y nam e is Van H eidem — D r Paul Van H eidem . W e’re nearly there now.’

N early there — nearly there . . . T hey w en t dow n another w hite corridor and Van H eidem finally stopped at a door, knocked and opened it.

‘A h, B ette rton ,’ he said. ‘H ere’s your w ife — at last!’ H ilary w alked in bravely, ho ld ing her head up.

A very good-look ing m an w ith fair hair stood by the w indow . H ilary was surprised — this m an did no t look like the photograph o f T om B etterton . She decided to take a risk.

She stepped forw ard, and then back. ‘B u t — that isn’t T om ,’ she said. ‘T h a t isn’t m y husband . . .’ She th ou gh t she sounded convincing.

A nd then T om B etterton laughed. ‘It m ust be good ,’ he said to Van H eidem , ‘i f even m y ow n w ife doesn’t recognize m e!’

H e quickly w alked over to H ilary and held her tightly in his arms. ‘O live, darling, it’s really m e — Tom — even if m y face has changed a little .’ T hen H ilary heard h im whisper, ‘Be careful. D anger.’

B ette rton looked at her face before holding her again. ‘D arling , it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,’ he continued. ‘B ut you’re here at last!’ H ilary felt his fingers pressing hard in to her back, as i f g iving her a w arning. ‘I still can’t believe you’re here,’ he said, w ith an excited little laugh. ‘But you know it’s me now, don’t yo u?’

H ilary d idn’t understand it — cou ldn’t understand it. B ut she gratefully tried to play her part. ‘T om !’ she said, ‘O h, Tom — but w hat . . .’

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‘I’ve had plastic surgery.’ he explained, ‘to change m y face.’ H e kissed her lightly.

‘It’s been so long,’ said H ilary, ‘and I —’ she swayed a little. ‘I — please, can I sit do w n ?’

‘O f course, darling,’ said B etterton , getting her a chair. ‘You’ve had such a bad tim e — and that plane crash! — I’m so glad you’re all r ig h t!’

‘So they k n ew about th e p lane crash ,’ th o u g h t H ilary . ‘T h a t m eans th ey m ust be in co m m u n ica tio n w ith th e outside w o rld .’

‘T he concussion has affected m y m em ory,’ she said. ‘I forget things and get confused. A nd then w hen I finally see you, you look like a to tal stranger! I t’s a bit m uch for m e.’

‘You ju st need to rest for a w hile, darling,’ said B etterton . Van H eidem m oved towards the door. ‘I w ill leave you alone

now ,’ he said. ‘Perhaps later, B etterton , you w ill b ring your w ife to the R eg istry?’ H e w en t ou t and shut the door.

Im m ediately B etterton dropped on his knees in front o f H ilary and rested his face on her shoulder.

‘D arling, darling,’ he said out loud. T hen H ilary heard h im whisper, ‘Keep going. T hey m ight be listening.’ H ilary could feel his fear and uneasiness. She looked at h im and saw a good- looking m an o f about th irty , w ho was badly frightened. H e looked as i f he was close to a nervous collapse.

N o w that the im m ediate danger was over, H ilary began to enjoy playing her part. She m ust be O live B ette rton — act and feel ju st as O live w ould. A nd the situation was so unreal she d idn’t feel as i f she was H ilary Craven any m ore.

She rem em bered the details she had learned w ith Jessop. ‘It seems such a long tim e since w e lived at ou r house, F irbank,’ she said. ‘W hiskers — do you rem em ber m y cat, W hiskers? She

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had kittens ju s t after you w ent away. It’s strange that there are so m any silly little th ings you don’t even know about.’

‘I know , said B etterton . ‘T hat was the old life. H ere w e’ll begin a new life.’

‘A nd it’s all righ t here? You’re happy?’ H ilary was sure a loving w ife w ould ask this.

‘It’s w onderful.’ Tom B etterton lifted his head. H is unhappy frightened eyes looked out o f a sm iling, confident face. ‘T he w ork ing conditions are perfect. T h ere ’s everything you could ever w ant here.’

‘A nd is it really a leper colony? ’‘O h , yes. T he doctors here are researching the disease. B ut it’s

ju st a disguise, a cover.’‘I see.’ H ilary looked round. ‘Is this ou r apartm ent?’‘Yes. S itting room , bathroom and bed room — I’ll show you.’ H ila ry w alked th rough the apartm ent. E very th ing was o f

good quality and very com fortable. T here was a lot o f space in the cupboards.

‘I don’t know w hat I’ll pu t in here,’ she said w ith a laugh. ‘I d idn’t b ring any th ing w ith m e.’

‘D o n ’t w orry ,’ said Tom. ‘You can get any th ing you w ant here. T h ere ’s no need to go outside ever again.’

H e said the words lightly, bu t H ila ry heard the despair in his voice. N o need to go outside ever again. T hey were in a cage — trapped!

A nd w ere they being spied on, too? Was som eone listening and w atching them now? Tom B etterton thought so, bu t was he right? O r was he in such a nervous state that he was im agining things? Was this w hat happened to you w hen you lived in a cage?

‘W ould you like to lie dow n — to rest? ’ Tom asked.‘N o —’ H ila ry hesitated. ‘N o , I don’t th in k so.’

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‘T h en perhaps you had be tte r com e w ith m e to the R egistry .’‘W h a t’s the R egistry? ’‘It’s w here they record everything about you - health, blood

pressure, likes, dislikes - everything. It’s very w ell organized here.’

‘I knew it w ould be,’ said H ilary. She tried to speak w ith real enthusiasm.

Tom B etterton kissed her again. ‘Keep going,’ he whispered. O u t loud he said, ‘A nd now, le t’s go to the R egistry .’

54

Chapter 12T he R eg istry was m anaged by a strict-looking Swiss w om an, w ho w ore glasses and had an unattractive hair style. ‘A h,’ she said w hen they arrived, ‘you’ve brought M rs B etterton .’ As H ilary sat dow n, the w om an took ou t a lot o f form s and started to w rite. Tom B etterton said awkwardly, ‘I ’ll leave you, O live,’ and shut the door beh ind him .

‘N o w then ,’ said the w om an seriously, ‘Tell m e your full nam e, please. Age. W h ere you were born . P aren t’s names. A ny serious illnesses. Hobbies. List o f any jobs held. D egrees from any university. W h at you like to eat and d rin k .’ T he questions w en t on and on. H ilary answ ered alm ost w ith ou t th ink ing , glad that she was so w ell prepared about O live’s life.

W h en they finally finished, H ilary was given a thorough m edical exam ination . A nd then she saw D r R ubec, a tall, sad- look ing Swiss m an o f about forty, for intelligence and personality tests.

H ilary was nervous about the tests, bu t they seemed to be routine. W h en they w ere over, D r R u bec said, ‘Please do not th in k I am being rude, M adam e, w hen I say that it is a pleasure to deal w ith som eone w ho is no t a genius.’

H ila ry laughed. ‘O h , I’m certainly no t a genius,’ she said. ‘You are fortunate ,’ said D r R ubec. ‘It w ill m ake your life here

m uch easier. I m ostly see very sensitive intellectual people here — bu t they are no t always em otionally stable. R eal scientists are not cool and calm , like they are in books. You w ould no t believe the argum ents and the jealousies that I have to deal w ith here!’

N ex t H ila ry was taken to the dress departm ent, w hich was ru n by M adem oiselle La R oche. T he Frenchw om an was no t w hat H ilary was expecting — she used to w ork in a famous Paris

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fashion house w here rich w om en bough t their clothes, and was interested in purely fem inine things.

‘I am delighted to m eet you, M adam e,’ she said to Hilary. ‘I ’m sure you are tired after your journey , so perhaps today you should ju st select a few essential items.’

‘I’d like that,’ said H ilary. ‘All I ow n now is a toothbrush .’ Mademoiselle La R oche laughed and took H ilary into a large

room w ith m any cupboards filled w ith clothes o f every different size and style. There were also endless underclothes, shoes, m akeup and toiletries. H ilary chose a few things from the huge selection, and one o f the assistants was told to take everything to her apartment.

‘It w ill be a pleasure to help you choose some m ore clothes later, w hen you are m ore rested,’ said M adem oiselle La R oche. ‘You are no t like scientific ladies — they do no t care w hat they w ear or w hat they look like! Ah, here is Miss Jennson .’

A th in girl w ith dark hair and glasses had entered the dress departm ent. A fter she had in troduced herself, Miss Jennson said, ‘I f you’ve finished here now, M rs B etterton , I w ill take you back to D r Van H eidem . H e is the D epu ty D irector, in charge o f m anaging the U n it.’ H ilary followed Miss Jennson to Van H eidem ’s office.

‘So, M rs B ette rton ,’ said Van H eidem , w hen H ilary arrived. ‘I’m sure you are glad to see your husband again. I hope you’ll be very happy here.’

‘T han k you.’ H ilary sat down.‘D o you w ant to ask m e any questions?’ the doctor said. H ilary laughed. ‘I have so m any questions to ask that I don’t

know w here to begin .’‘O h , I understand,’ he said. ‘B ut m y advice is no t to ask

anything. Just take some tim e to adapt and see w hat happens. T h a t’s the best th ing to do.’

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‘B ut I know so little,’ said H ilary. ‘I t’s all so — so unexpected .’ ‘Yes,’ Van H eidem laughed. ‘O u r desert hom e is quite a

surprise to m ost people. W e don’t tell anyone about it before they get here. B u t w e do ou r best to m ake everyone com fortable. A nd i f there’s any th ing you need — any particular books or music, for exam ple — ju st ask.’

A fter a pause, he continued, ‘It usually takes people a few weeks to get used to liv ing here — especially wives. Som etim es wives take tim e to m ake new friends.’

‘A nd do w e stay here? O r do w e m ove on to som ew here else?’ Van H eidem becam e rather vague. ‘T here are possibilities,’

he said. ‘It depends on your husband. B u t let’s no t talk about that now.’

‘C an I go out at all?’ asked H ilary. ‘I m ean, go outside the gates?’

‘I am often asked that question,’ said Van H eidem . H is voice was kind. ‘B u t ou r U n it is a w orld in itself — it has everything you need. A nd outside there is only desert.’ H e smiled. ‘A fter a w hile, M rs B etterton , you w on’t w ant to go out. You w on’t w ant to go back to the bad old w orld you have left beh ind .’

57

Chapter 13H ilary was back in her apartm ent. T he clothes she had chosen had arrived and she pu t them away in the w ardrobe.

‘I w ent to see the D ep u ty D irector,’ H ila ry to ld B etterton . ‘Yes, he m anages the U n it,’ said B etterton . ‘But it’s the

D irector w h o’s really in charge.’ T hey spoke carefully, in case som eone was listening. ‘W e don’t see the D irec to r very often, though he som etim es gives a speech. H e’s very inspiring .’ H e looked at his w atch. ‘W e should go dow n to d inner now, i f you’re ready.’ H e spoke as though they w ere staying in a hotel.

H ilary was w earing a grey-green dress that she had chosen earlier, w hich looked very attractive w ith her red hair. They w ent dow n the stairs and along several corridors un til they reached a large d in ing room . Miss Jennson showed them to their table, w here A ndy Peters and Ericsson w ere already sitting.

H ilary in troduced her ‘husband’ to the tw o m en. T hey sat dow n, and w ere soon jo in ed by another couple, w ho B etterton in troduced as D r Sim on M urchison and his w ife Bianca. ‘Sim on and I w ork together,’ he explained.

Sim on M urchison was a th in , pale young m an, and his wife Bianca had dark hair and came from Italy. ‘T om orrow ,’ she said to H ilary, ‘I w ill show you around. A re you a scientist, to o ? ’

‘I’m afraid no t,’ said H ilary. ‘I used to w ork as a secretary.’ ‘T hen perhaps you can help m e organize some events here,’

suggested Bianca.H ilary was quick to agree to this plan. T h en A ndy Peters

said, ‘I feel like a new boy at school. I’ll be glad to start w ork.’ ‘It’s a w onderful place to w ork,’ said Sim on M urchison w ith

enthusiasm. ‘N o in terruptions and every th ing you need.'‘W h at exactly are you w ork ing o n ?’ asked A ndy Peters.

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A ll the m en started ta lk ing about scientific th ings that H ila ry d idn’t understand. She spoke for a w hile to Bianca M urchison, w ho told her about some o f the social activities. ‘You can play card games, and there is a cinem a and som etim es dancing. A nd there is tennis and squash.’

‘I don’t really w ant to do any th ing else ton igh t,’ said H ilary, yaw ning. ‘I ju st w ant to go to bed .’

‘Yes, dear,’ said Tom B etterton . ‘You need a good n ig h t’s rest after your tir in g journey . B ut do com e up to the ro o f garden for a w hile — the air is w onderful at n igh t.’

T hey w ent up in a lift operated by a tall dark-skinned m an w earing w hite robes. To H ila ry ’s surprise, the ro o f garden was beautifu l — like a fairy story from the book, Arabian Nights. T here was the sound o f water, tall palm trees and lots o f green plants. It m ust have cost a lo t o f m oney to create such a beautiful green garden in the desert.

H ilary and B ette rton w alked around the garden, and gradually all the o ther people w ho had been enjoying the n igh t air w ent back inside. T he air was cold and H ila ry could see the stars as they sat dow n, alone at last.

‘N o w tell m e,’ said B etterton in a low, nervous voice. ‘W h o are yo u?’

H ilary looked at him . Before she answ ered she had a question o f her ow n. ‘W h y did you say I was your w ife?’

‘I don’t kn ow — I was stupid. I th ou gh t perhaps you had com e to get m e out o f here.’

‘So you w an t to get ou t o f here?’‘O f course I do! D o you need to ask?’‘D id you kn ow you w ere com ing here?’ asked Hilary.‘I d idn’t kn ow I was com ing to Africa, bu t I knew w hat I

was doing, and cam e w illing ly — I w asn’t kidnapped. I believed

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in sharing in fo rm ation w ith o ther scientists — and I believed in peace and freedom for everyone.’

Tom B etterton laughed bitterly. ‘B ut there’s no freedom here,’ he said. ‘I ’m always w atched and spied on . . . or am I? Perhaps I’m im agin ing things. W h y should they bother? I can’t leave or get away — it’s like a p rison!’

‘So it isn’t how you im agined it? ’ H ilary asked.‘It is in some ways. T he w ork ing conditions are perfect and

there’s everything you need. But you’re still in prison.’‘I know ,’ agreed H ilary. ‘It was horrib le w hen the gates closed

beh ind us today.’‘So now answ er m y question,’ said B etterton . ‘W h y are you

here, p retending to be Olive? W here is O live?’‘Olive —’ H ilary stopped, try ing to th in k o f the righ t words. ‘W h a t’s happened to her? W h at are you try in g to say?’‘I’m sorry, so sorry,’ said H ilary, look ing at his nervous face,

‘bu t your w ife is dead. She was in a plane crash and died tw o days later.’

B etterton stared straight ahead o f h im . H e d idn’t show any em otion. ‘So O live’s dead? I see . . .’

T here was a long silence. T hen he tu rn ed to her. ‘So O live’s dead,’ he said again. ‘But w hy are you here?’

H ilary was ready for this question. B ette rton though t she had com e to help h im escape, bu t that w asn’t true. She was a spy, here to get in form ation — and now she, too, was a prisoner. B ut she wasn’t going to tell h im that — he was too nervous and frightened to keep a secret.

‘I was at the hospital w ith your w ife w hen she died. She w anted to tell you som ething, so I said I w ould try to reach you.’ As B etterton frow ned, H ilary hu rried on before he could realize how w eak her story was.

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‘I agree w ith yo u r ideas,’ she said, ‘I, too , w an t peace and freedom . A n d w ith m y red h a ir — w ell, it seem ed w o rth try in g .’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Y our hair’s exactly like O live’s.’A n d your w ife was so desperate to tell you som ething — to

tell you to be careful — very careful — that you were in danger — from som eone called Boris.’

‘Boris? Boris G lydr?’‘Yes, do you know him ? ’‘I ’ve never m et h im ,’ said B etterton , ‘H e ’s m y first w ife’s

cousin. H ad O live seen him ? W h at did he say to her?’‘I don’t know . T h a t’s all she said. A nd — oh yes — she said that

she cou ldn’t believe it.’‘Believe w h at? ’‘I don’t know ,’ said H ilary. ‘You see — she was dying . . .’A n expression o f pain crossed B ette rton ’s face. ‘I know you

say she’s dead, bu t at the m om ent I can’t really believe it. B ut w hat did she m ean, about Boris? H o w can he be dangerous to m e here?'

‘I don’t know ,’ H ilary said again.T here was silence for a m om ent.‘O h well, it doesn’t m atter,’ said B etterton . ‘W e can’t escape.’ ‘O h yes, w e can,’ said H ilary. ‘W e’ll find a way.’H e stared at her. ‘You have no idea how hard it w ould be.’ ‘T h ere ’s always a way,’ said H ilary confidently. ‘W e ju st need

tim e and a good plan.’‘T im e?’ he said. ‘I don’t have tim e. I can’t w ork properly here.

I can’t think. T hey w ant new and orig inal w ork — and I ju st can’t do it. I t’s d riv ing m e m ad. I’m no use to them like this — they’ll kill m e.’

‘O h , n o !’

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‘Yes, they w ill. T he only th in g th a t’s saved m e is that I ’ve had lots o f plastic surgery, and I needed tim e to recover. B ut that’s finished now.’

‘B ut w hy did you have plastic surgery at all?’‘For m y ow n safety,’ said B etterton . ‘T he police are looking

for m e — they w an t to arrest m e.’‘You m ean,’ said H ilary, ‘because you sold secrets?’H e w ouldn’t look at her. ‘I d idn’t sell anything. I gave them

w hat they w anted. I w an ted to share all m y scientific know ledge. D o n ’t you understand? ’

H ilary th ou gh t that she did understand. A ndy Peters and Torquil Ericsson w ould do the same. T hey w ould betray their country because they believed that sharing their know ledge w ould create a be tte r world.

B etterton looked round h im nervously. ‘E veryone’s gone,’ he said. ‘W e should go back dow n.’

H ilary stood up. ’I’ve ju st arrived,’ she said. ‘T hey ’ll understand that w e w ant to be alone.’

‘W e’ll have to go on pretending,’ B ette rton said awkwardly. ‘T hat you’re m y w ife, I m ean.’ H e stopped, embarrassed.

H ilary looked at Tom standing in front o f her. ‘H o w handsom e he is,’ though t H ilary. ‘B u t I ’m not at all attracted to h im .’

‘D on’t w orry,’ she said cheerfully. ‘T he m ost im p ortan t th ing is to get out o f here.’

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Chapter 14In a ho tel room in M arrakesh, Jessop was talk ing to Miss H ethering ton . This w om an looked the same as the Miss H etherin g to n that H ilary had know n, bu t she behaved very differently. N o w she was confident and positive, and seem ed m uch younger. T he th ird person in the room was a dark-haired, solid-looking F renchm an called Leblanc.

Janet H e therin g to n was telling Jessop about the people that H ilary — as O live B etterton — had talked to w hen they w ere in Fez. ‘T here was M rs Baker, w ho I had already m et at Casablanca,’ she said. ‘I still can’t decide about her. She was friendly w ith O live B etterton , bu t Am ericans travelling abroad often are friendly. A nd she was on the plane, too .’

‘Yes, w hat do you th in k about this plane crash, Leblanc?’ said Jessop, tu rn in g towards the Frenchm an.

‘W e don’t kn ow w hy the plane crashed,’ the Frenchm an replied, ‘bu t everyone on board was killed .’

‘W h a t do you know about the p ilo t?’ asked Jessop.‘O n ly that he was young and was a good pilo t,’ said Leblanc.

‘A nd badly paid.’ H e paused. ‘B ut there w ere seven bodies. T hey w ere badly bu rn ed and couldn’t be identified — but there w ere still seven bodies.’

Jessop tu rn ed back to Janet H ethering ton . ‘D id M rs B etterton speak to anyone else?’

‘She did talk to one o f the waiters — and M r Aristides,’ she replied. ‘A h,’ said Leblanc, ‘M r Aristides, one o f the richest m en in the

world. A nd w hat does he do w ith all that money? H e shuts him self away in a castle in Spain and collects, so they say, Chinese p o tte ry ’

‘M rs B etterton also visited the old tow n o f Fez w ith one o f the guides,’ said Miss H etherington. ‘Som eone may have contacted her then .’

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‘A nd she suddenly decided to go to M arrakesh,’ said Jessop th ough tfu lly

‘N o t suddenly,’ said Miss H ethering ton . ‘H er tickets were already booked.’

‘I m ean M rs Baker, no t M rs B etterton ,’ explained Jessop. ‘M rs Baker suddenly decided to go to M arrakesh. A nd surely it’s strange that O live B ette rton was involved in tw o plane crashes?’ H e paused. ‘H ere’s ano ther idea - perhaps the crash was faked.’

Leblanc looked interested. ‘It could be done, yes,’ he said. ‘T hey could land the plane and set it on fire. B ut the bodies — there were still seven badly burned bodies on that plane.’

‘I know ,’ said Jessop, ‘th a t’s the problem . A nd there’s no trail to follow.’

‘I have people searching the area w here the plane crashed,’ said Leblanc. ‘It’s a very lonely place. T he plane was o ff its course — flying in the w ron g direction .’

‘I ’m sure th a t’s im portan t,’ Jessop said. ‘L et’s look at the passenger list again.’

T he Frenchm an gave the list to Jessop and they bo th exam ined it carefully.

‘M rs Baker, A m erican. M rs B etterton , English. Torquil Ericsson, N orw egian. I’ve heard his nam e before,’ said Jessop, frow ning. ‘I’m sure h e ’s a scientist o f some sort.’

‘T hen there is a nun, Sister M arie,’ said Leblanc. A n d A ndrew Peters, A m erican, and D r Barron, an expert on diseases.’

‘T hat all fits in w ith w hat w e’re look ing for,’ said Jessop.T he telephone on the table rang and Leblanc answ ered it.

A h , yes,’ he said. ‘Send them in .’ H e tu rn ed to Jessop. ‘M y m en have found som eth ing!’ he said w ith excitem ent.

A few m om ents later tw o m en entered the room — a Frenchm an and a local M oroccan m an. ‘I told the local people that there was

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a rew ard i f they found anyth ing ,’ the first m an said to Leblanc. ‘A nd this m an has found som ething im p ortan t.’

T he M oroccan took a small object from underneath his w hite robes. It was a large pearl. Jessop took the pearl and looked at it closely w ith a m agnify ing glass.

‘Yes! T he m ark is there,’ he said w ith excitem ent. ‘G ood girl — she did it!’

Leblanc was questioning the M oroccan in Arabic. H e tu rn ed to Jessop. ‘T his pearl was found nearly h a lf a m ile from the b u rn in g plane.’

‘T ha t m eans,’ said Jessop, ‘that O live B e tterton survived the plane crash, and though seven b u rn t bodies were found, one o f them was definitely no t hers.’

‘I w ill tell m y m en to search a bigger area now ,’ said Leblanc. A n d this m an here w ill get a big reward. W h en the o ther local people hear about it, they w ill look very carefully for these pearls. I just hope,’ he added thoughtfully , ‘that her fellow-travellers d idn’t realize w hat she was doing.’

‘W h y should they?’ asked Jessop. ‘Olive B etterton has broken her necklace and a few pearls fell out o f her pocket. It isn’t suspicious.’

Leblanc looked at the passenger list again. ‘M rs Baker, A m erican. M rs B etterton , English. Torquil Ericsson, N orw egian — a scientist. W e know no th ing about him . There is a nun, Sister M arie — a good disguise, perhaps, and A ndrew Peters, a nuclear chemist, also A m erican. Last there is D r B arron — a famous doctor,I believe. A ll these people have been cleverly brought together to travel in that plane — w hich is later found on fire w ith seven dead bodies inside. It is amazing! I w onder how they did it?’

‘I d o n ’t know ,’ said Jessop, ‘b u t p u ttin g the bodies there was very convincing . B u t now — because o f the pearl — we

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know that six o r seven people in that plane have started a new jo u rn ey .’

‘W e should m ove to a hotel nearer w here the plane crashed,’ said Leblanc, ‘in case o ther evidence is found nearby.’

O ver the nex t few days Jessop and Leblanc w orked very hard, calculating how far a car could travel from w here the plane crashed in each d irection , and w here it w ou ld stop. T here were lots o f false trails, bu t at last they got results.

W e have found som ething,’ Leblanc told Jessop. ‘A pearl was found in a local m an’s house. H e was paid a great deal o f m oney no t to tell anyone that six people stayed the n igh t there. A nd children in a local village nearby have found tw o m ore pearls. So now we know w hich direction they w ent in .’

‘T h a t’s good new s,’ said Jessop.‘T here is m ore, m y friend,’ said Leblanc. ‘A local m an saw a

car driv ing in the night. As it passed he saw the sign o f the hand o f Fatima on one side. It shone in the dark. It was a good idea o f yours, to pu t lum inous paint on a glove - it only shows up at night.’

‘It works w ell,’ said Jessop, ‘bu t i t’s dangerous, because the people in the car can see it, too .’

‘It cannot be seen in daylight, said Leblanc. ‘A nd the hand o f Fatima is a popu lar religious sign — it is pain ted on m any different vehicles.’

‘T h a t’s true ,’ agreed Jessop, ‘bu t w e m ust still be careful. I f they did notice it, it could be a false trail.’

T he nex t m orn in g Leblanc excitedly brough t in some new evidence — th ree pearls arranged in a triangle, stuck together w ith chew ing gum .

‘T hree pearls in a triangle,’ said Jessop. ‘T h a t’s our sign to say that the next part o f the jo u rn ey was by plane.’

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‘Y ou’re righ t,’ said Leblanc. ‘T his was found on an old arm y airfield, in a very lonely place. It is n o t used any m ore, bu t there w ere signs that a plane landed and left there n o t long ago.’

‘A nother plane,’ said Jessop slowly. ‘So now there is no trail and w e don’t know w here they’ve gone. A gain they have left for an u n k n o w n destination.’

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Chapter 15‘I can’t believe,’ th ou gh t H ilary, ‘that I’ve been here ten days!’ T he m ost frigh ten ing th in g was how quickly and easily she had adapted to life in the U nit. A fter only a w eek she had begun to accept her way o f life as natural. It was a strange life, w here no th ing was real - like liv ing in a dream . Perhaps she w ould always feel like she was liv ing in a dream . . . perhaps she w ould never wake up.

It was in teresting, though t H ilary, to see how her fellow- travellers reacted to life in the U nit. She d idn’t m eet Helga N eedheim very often, bu t the G erm an w om an seem ed happy and satisfied. D r B arron, w ho H ilary som etim es talked to, was impressed w ith the w ork ing conditions and loved his w ork — although he adm itted that he had not expected to live in a prison.

‘But I was paid a large am ount o f m oney before I cam e here,’ he added. ‘A nd w hen all this comes to an end, I w ill be able to spend it.’

‘W h en all this comes to an end?’ H ila ry repeated. ‘W h y should that happen?’

‘M y dear,’ said D r B arron, ‘n o th ing is perm anent. In tim e, the U n it w ill break up and fall apart. W h at happens here is too strange, too unreal. It w ill no t last. B ut un til that happens, I am happy to w ork here.’

Torquil Ericsson also seemed to be quite happy living in the U nit. H ilary d idn’t understand him . H e seem ed to live in a w orld o f his ow n, a w orld that d idn’t really exist. O n ly he could see this ideal w orld w here the scientists ru led and controlled everything - it existed only in his ow n head.

A ndy Peters was easier for H ilary to understand. Like her, Peters hated liv ing in the U nit.

D estination U nknow n

‘I had no idea w hat it w ould really be like,’ he told H ilary. ‘I have to get ou t o f here.’

‘It w on’t be easy,’ said H ilary quietly. T hey were w alking together on the ro o f garden.

‘N o ,’ said Peters, ‘it w on’t be easy, bu t it’s no t impossible. N o th in g ’s im possible.’

‘I like to hear you say that,’ said H ilary. ‘I hate it here, bu t I ’m m ore afraid that I’ll get used to it.’

‘Yes,’ Peters said thoughtfully. ‘I ’ve w ondered about that. W h at does yo u r husband think? H e’s been here a w hile now .’

‘Tom? I — oh, I don’t know. I t’s so difficult. I —’ H ilary was silent.

For ten days she had lived w ith — and shared a bedroom w ith — a m an w ho was a com plete stranger to her. She d idn’t understand Tom B etterton . H e didn’t seem to be upset by his real w ife’s death. All he could th in k about was getting away from the U nit. Again and again he said, ‘I m ust get away from here. I must, I m ust.’

B u t the way he said this was very different to the way Peters said it. Peters was a young, angry m an, confident that he w ould be able to escape. T om B etterton sounded like a m an w ho was about to collapse, a m an w ho was alm ost crazy. Perhaps, H ilary th ou gh t suddenly, this was w hat she and Peters w ould be like in six m onths’ tim e.

She w ished she could talk to A ndy Peters about this. She w ished she could say, ‘Tom B etterton isn’t m y husband. I know n o th ing about h im and I don’t know w hat to do or say to help h im .’ Instead she chose her words carefully. ‘Tom seems like a stranger to m e now. H e doesn’t — tell m e things. Som etim es I th in k being shut up in here is driv ing h im m ad. H ow can w e get ou t o f h ere?’

Agatha C hristie

‘W e’ve got to plan it very carefully, O live,’ Peters said. ‘I f there’s a w ay in , there’s a way out. W e’ll need to be clever and pretend to play a part — perhaps pay som eone w ho works here to help — bu t w e can do it. W e w ill get ou t.’

‘I’m sure you w ill,’ said H ilary, ‘bu t w hat about m e?’‘W ell, i t’s different for you.’ Peters sounded embarrassed.For a m om ent H ilary w ondered w hat he m eant, and then she

realized that he was talk ing about Tom B etterton . She had com e here to be w ith the m an she loved - and she had got w hat she w anted.

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‘G ood evening, M rs B etterton ,’ said Miss Jennson , her eyes shining w ith excitem ent beh ind her glasses. ‘T here w ill be a m eeting tonight. T he D irector h im self is going to speak to us. H e’s a w onderfu l m an!’

‘T h a t’s good ,’ said A ndy Peters, as Miss Jennson m oved away. ‘I’ve been w aiting to see this D irector.’

‘Tom said the D irector is very inspiring,’ said H ilary. ‘B u t I don’t really know w hat he m eant.’

‘I’m sure he can’t be that w onderful,’ said Peters w ith a smile. ‘O h , I ’m so glad you’re here,’ said H ilary. ‘You’re so nice

and ordinary. I ’m sorry,’ she said as Peters looked amused, ‘that sounded rude.’

‘So you like ordinary people?’ Peters said. ‘N o t som eone w h o’s a genius?’

‘Yes,’ said H ilary. ‘A nd you — y ou’ve changed since you cam e here. You don’t seem so b itter any m ore — you don’t hate.’

B u t im m ediately his face looked g rim . ‘T h a t’s no t true ,’ he said. ‘I can still hate. T here are some th ings that should be hated .’

II

T he m eeting to ok place after d inner in the large lecture room . H ilary sat nex t to Tom B etterton . F rom the way Miss Jennson had spoken about h im , H ilary was disappointed w hen the D irec to r stepped up on the platform in fron t o f them . H e looked like a b o ring English businessm an, heavy and m iddle-aged.

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‘First, I w ould like to w elcom e ou r new colleagues,’ began the D irector, before saying a few words about each o f the new arrivals in French, G erm an and English. A fter that he w ent on to speak o f the aims and beliefs o f the U nit.

T ho ug h she tried , afterw ards H ilary cou ldn’t really rem em ber the D irec to r’s exact words — or perhaps the words themselves w ere ju st ordinary. B ut listening to the D irec to r speak those words was a very different experience.

H e spoke very simply, about Y outh and about Pow er — how the fu ture w ould be shaped by the young scientists, and how together they w ould create a N ew W orld.

‘H ere in this U n it w e are gathering the m ost in telligent young brains from all over the w orld,’ the D irec to r said. ‘In tim e, we w ill have the scientific know ledge and pow er to destroy the world. W h en that day comes, w e w ill be in charge o f w orld affairs — w e w ill control the w hole w orld !’

It was no t the words themselves, bu t the pow er o f the speaker that affected the listening audience so intensely. W h en H ilary left the lecture room , in a state o f h igh em otion, she could see that the o ther people around her felt the same - inspired and up lifted . She felt alm ost d ru n k w ith the intense em otions that the D irec to r’s words had produced.

T hen she felt a hand on her arm . ‘C om e up to the ro o f garden,’ said A ndy Peters. ‘W e need some air.’

T hey w en t up in the lift w ith ou t speaking and stepped out am ong the palm trees under the stars.

Peters breathed in deeply. ‘Yes, th a t’s better.’ H e shook H ila ry ’s arm . ‘C om e on, O live,’ he said. ‘You don’t really believe all that. W e’ve heard it all before.’

‘B ut it w ould be w onderful,’ said H ila ry w ith enthusiasm . ‘It w ould be a w onderful w orld!’

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‘T h in k about it properly,’ said Peters sharply. ‘Y outh and brains — w hat does it really m ean? H ere that m eans H elga N eedheim , ruthless and arrogant, and T orquil Ericsson, an im practical dream er. O r D r B arron , w ho w ould sell his g randm other to get m oney for his w ork. A nd your ow n husband, a m an too frightened and nervous to w ork at all. A nd these people are going to rule the w orld? D o n ’t m ake m e laugh! I t’s all to tal nonsense!’

H ilary sat dow n. ‘I do believe you’re righ t,’ she said at last. ‘But it was a w onderful idea. H o w does the D irector m ake everyone feel like that? ’

‘I don’t know how he does it,’ said Peters, ‘bu t I’m glad y ou’re back to norm al now.’ T hen suddenly his m anner changed. ‘I suppose I shouldn’t have brought you straight up here. W h at w ill your husband say? ’

‘H e probably w on’t even notice,’ said Hilary.‘I ’m sorry, Olive. It m ust be hard for you to see h im like this.’ ‘W e m ust get out o f here,’ said H ilary passionately. ‘W e must! ’ ‘W e w ill,’ Peters said. ‘I’ve m ade some progress. T here are

lots o f people here w ho aren’t happy. I’ll get you out, O live.’ ‘A nd Tom , to o ? ’Peters’s face darkened. ‘Listen, O live, it’s best i f Tom stays

here. H e ’ll be — safer here than in the outside w orld.’‘Safer? I don’t know w hat you m ean,’ said H ilary. ‘D o you

th in k h e ’s going m ad?’‘N o ,’ said Peters slowly. ‘B ut a cage can be a safe place.’ Suddenly H ilary rem em bered that Tom had said that the

police w ere look ing for him . B ut being in a real prison w ould still be be tte r th an staying here. ‘T om m ust com e, too,’ she insisted.

‘A ll righ t, bu t I ’ve w arned you,’ said Peters bitterly. ‘I w ish I knew w hy you care so m uch for that m an.’

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H ilary stared at h im . She said no th ing , bu t she w anted to say, ‘I don’t care for h im . H e means n o th in g to m e.’ She w anted to say, ‘T he m an I care about is you . .

Ill

‘Have you been enjoying yourself w ith your A m erican friend?’ Tom B etterton said as H ilary entered their bedroom . H e looked at her closely, as i f seeing her for the first tim e. ‘You’re a good- looking w om an, O live,’ he said. From the beg inn ing H ilary had insisted that he should always call her by his w ife’s nam e. ‘O nce I w ould have noticed that. I ’m a norm al m an — or I used to be.’

H ilary sat dow n beside him . ‘W h at is the m atter w ith you, Tom ?’

‘I’ve told you. I can’t th in k ,’ he said. ‘I can’t w ork .’‘T he others don’t seem to feel the same as you,’ said Hilary. ‘It

w ould help i f you had a real friend here.’‘I’ve seen a lo t o f Torquil Ericsson lately,’ said Tom . ‘H e ’s a

brilliant m an .’‘H e ’s a strange m an,’ said Hilary. ‘I th in k he’s frightening.’ ‘Frightening? Torquil? H e ’s actually very gentle — and like a

child in some ways.’‘Tom ,’ said H ilary, ‘don’t get too friendly w ith Torquil

Ericsson.’‘W h y no t? ’ H e stared at her.‘I don’t know ,’ H ilary said. ‘I t’s ju s t a feeling I have.’

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‘T hey m ust have left Africa,’ said Leblanc.‘I ’m no t so sure,’ said Jessop. ‘O n ly a small plane could have

used that arm y airfield. It w ould need to refuel before it crossed the sea.’

‘But I tell you, m y friend,’ said Leblanc, ‘w e have searched everyw here. Even i f your agent has used the spray . . .’

‘I f m y agent has used the spray,’ said Jessop, ‘we w ill know eventually. W e ju st haven’t found the righ t plane yet.’ H e paused. ‘I w onder - perhaps instead o f flying N o rth , they flew back again — and flew South.’

‘B ut w here w ould they go?’ asked Leblanc. ‘T here are only the H igh Atlas m ountains - and after that, the desert . . .’

II

‘You prom ise? You prom ise that I w ill be able to go to A m erica?’ ‘Yes, I prom ise, M oham m ed. I f w e get ou t o f here, you’ll be

on your way. Tell me, w hy do you w ant to go to America? ’ ‘T his cou n try is no t m odern - I do no t w ish to stay here all

m y life. T he b ro ther o f m y w ife has gone to Am erica, so I have fam ily there .’

Peters looked thoughtfu lly at the dignified, dark-skinned face. M oham m ed in his w hite robes was an impressive sight. ‘O f course, i f w e are found o u t . . .’

M oham m ed sm iled, show ing his beautifu l w hite teeth. ‘T h en it is death - for m e certainly, though perhaps no t for you.’

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‘D o you know w hat you have to do?’ Peters asked.‘I m ust take you up to the ro o f garden after dark. Also, I m ust

pu t some clo th ing in y our room — such as I and the o ther servants wear. Later — there w ill be o ther th ings.’

‘T h a t’s right. I had better go now — som ebody may notice w e’re staying a long tim e in the lift.’

Ill

T here was dancing that evening. A ndy Peters was dancing w ith Miss Jennson. H e held her close to h im and w hispered in her ear. H e w inked at H ilary as he passed.

H ilary tried n o t to smile, and looked away. T hen she frow ned as she saw Tom B etterton talk ing to Torquil Ericsson.

‘Olive, w ill you dance w ith m e?’ asked Sim on M urchison. ‘Yes, o f course, Sim on,’ said H ilary, thou gh she could see he

was a bad dancer.‘I like your dress, O live,’ M urchison said as they danced.

‘T hey really do give you everything you need here. I know it can take tim e to get used to it, bu t after a w hile . . .’

‘You m ean people can get used to any th ing?’‘W ell, some people adjust better than others,’ said M urchison.

‘T om doesn’t seem very happy, though. Is he here? O h yes, I see h im — he’s talk ing to Torquil. T hey ’re very friendly now.’

T he dance ended and H ila ry danced n ex t w ith A ndy Peters.

‘I m anaged to get some inform ation from Miss Jennson ,’ he told her. ‘T here’s a group o f im portan t people visiting here tom orrow .’

‘A ndy — do you th in k there m ight be a chance . . .’

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‘N o, I don’t,’ said Peters, ‘bu t w e’ll get to know w hat happens — the routine. A nd then nex t tim e . . . I’ll talk sweetly to Miss Jennson and see w hat else I can find out.’

‘W h a t do the visitors know about this place?’‘A bout us — the U nit, I m ean — n o th in g at all. T hey ’re here to

see the leper colony and the hospital. T his place has been bu ilt in to the m ountain , so you can’t see how big it really is. A nd our area is shut o ff from the m ain build ing.’

‘O u r life here — it’s still so unreal.’‘I know ,’ agreed Peters. ‘I can’t get used to no t seeing any

children about. A nd now you’re here, you m ust be glad that you don’t have children — they certain ly w ouldn’t like to be indoors all the tim e!’

H e felt H ila ry ’s body suddenly grow tense. ‘I ’m sorry — have I said the w ron g th in g ?’ H e took her to sit dow n. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said again.

‘I t’s no t your fault,’ said H ilary. ‘I d id have a child — and she died — th a t’s all.’

‘You had a child?’ Peters stared, surprised. ‘I thought you’d only been m arried to B etterton for six m on ths?’

H ila ry ’s face reddened. ‘Yes, o f course,’ she said, ‘bu t I was — m arried before.’

‘O h , I see. I d idn’t know that. It’s strange to th in k that I don’t really know any th ing about you.’

‘A nd I don’t know any th ing about you,’ said H ilary, glad to change the subject. ‘Tell m e about your family.’

‘I was b ro u g h t up in a very scientific househo ld ,’ said Peters. ‘N o one ever th o u g h t o f an y th in g b u t science. B u t I w asn’t th e clever one — th a t was the girl in the fam ily. She was b rillian t — a genius. She cou ld have been as fam ous as M arie C u rie .’

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‘She — w hat happened to her?’‘She was k illed ,’ he said abruptly.‘She m ust have been killed in the w ar,’ though t H ilary. ‘You

cared about her?’ she asked gently.‘M ore than I have ever cared about anybody.’Peters shook his head quickly. ‘L et’s no t talk about that.’ It

was his tu rn to change the subject. ‘Look at Ericsson,’ he said. ‘H e’s so form al — he looks as i f he’s m ade o f w ood .’

‘It’s because h e ’s so tall and th in .’‘H e ’s no t that tall. H e ’s actually about the same height as m e —

five foot eleven or six foot.’‘H e looks taller,’ said H ilary. ‘H eigh t can be deceptive.’‘Yes,’ agreed Peters. ‘It’s like descriptions on passports.

Ericsson’s passport probably says: H eigh t six foot, fair hair, blue eyes, nose m edium . From that description you still w ouldn’t know w hat Torquil really looked like. W h a t’s the m atter? ’

‘N o th ing .’ H ilary was staring across the room at Ericsson. T hat was exactly how Jessop had described Boris Glydr! Was that w hy she had always felt nervous o f T orquil Ericsson?

T urn ing abruptly to Peters she said, ‘I suppose he is Ericsson? H e couldn’t be som eone else?’

Peters looked at her in astonishm ent. ‘I don’t th in k so. Ericsson is quite a w ell-know n scientist. A nd w ho else could he be? It’s no t very likely.’

‘N o ,’ said H ilary. ‘N o, o f course it isn’t likely.’O f course Ericsson was no t Boris Glydr. B ut w hy had O live

B etterton w anted to w arn Tom about Boris? Was it because she knew that Boris Glydr was on his way to the U nit? W h at i f he was really Torquil Ericsson?

Just then the D epu ty D irector stepped forw ard to m ake an announcem ent.

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‘Friends and colleagues,’ said D r Van H eidem , ‘to m orrow you are asked to rem ain in the E m ergency A rea for tw en ty - four hours. Please m eet at eleven a.m . I am sorry for the inconvenience.’

‘I m ust go and dance again w ith Miss Jennson ,’ said Peters as the music re-started . ‘I ’ll see i f I can find ou t any m ore in fo rm ation .’ H e m oved away, leaving H ilary w ith her thoughts. Torquil Ericsson? Boris Glydr?

IV

At eleven the nex t m orning, everyone m et in the large lecture room , w here a careful check was m ade to ensure they w ere all there. T hen they w en t on a long w alk th ro ug h endless tw isting w hite corridors. H ilary knew that Peters had a small compass h idden in his hand, and was calculating w here they were going. ‘It doesn’t help now ,’ he w hispered, ‘bu t it m ight help in the fu tu re .’

A t the end o f one corridor they all stopped in front o f a door w hile it was opened. Peters to ok ou t his cigarette case. ‘N o sm oking, please,’ said Van H eidem sharply. ‘You have been told that already.’

‘Sorry, Sir.’ Peters paused w ith the cigarette case in his hand. T hen they all w en t forw ard again — ‘ju st like sheep,’ though t H ilary.

‘T he w om en w ill sleep in the room on the righ t,’ said Miss Jennson. ‘T he m en w ill have the room on the left.’

T he room w here all the w om en w ere going to sleep looked rather like a hospital. It had beds all dow n each side o f the room , separated by plastic curtains. T here was also a bathroom , and

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the living room , w hich was shared w ith the m en, was th rough a door at the end.

Two films w ere show n during the day in the shared living room to help pass the tim e. In the evening, Peters sat nex t to Miss Jennson, w hile H ila ry played cards w ith D r Barron, and Sim on and Bianca M urchison. She enjoyed the game, and it was h a lf past eleven w hen they finished.

‘It’s quite late now,’ said Hilary. ‘I suppose the visitors have gone hom e?’ All day she had felt helpless, know ing that nearby there w ere people from the outside, bu t w ith no way o f asking them for help.

‘I don’t really know ,’ said S im on M urch ison . ‘Som etim es they stay the n igh t, bu t they w ill be gone by lunch tim e tom orrow .’

‘Is that w hen w e go back to ou r apartm ents?’ H ilary asked.‘Yes,’ said Bianca M urchison. ‘E very th ing here is so well

arranged.’She and H ilary got up and said good night. B ut ju s t as H ilary

was entering the w om en’s bedroom , she felt a soft touch on her arm . She tu rn ed sharply to find one o f the tall, dark-skinned servants.

‘M adam e, you are to com e,’ he said in French.‘Com e? C om e w here?’‘Please follow m e.’She hesitated for a m om ent, then followed the m an doubtfully

th rough a door and along m any w hite corridors. She had no idea w here they w ere going. A t the end o f one corridor the m an pressed a bu tton on the wall and a small lift appeared. T hey got in.

‘W here are you tak ing m e?’ H ilary asked.‘To the M aster, M adam e. It is a great honour.’

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T he lift stopped, and they w alked dow n yet another corridor un til they reached a door. W h en she w alked th rough it, H ilary found herself inside a luxurious room , filled w ith com fortable sofas and beautifu l rugs.

She stared in astonishm ent. S itting on a sofa was a little old m an w ith a yellow -tin ted face — M r Aristides.

Chapter 18‘Please sit dow n, dear M adam e,’ said M r Aristides.

In a dream , H ilary sat dow n opposite the old m an, w ho laughed at her surprise. ‘So, you did no t expect to see m e here?’ he said.

‘N o, indeed ,’ said H ilary. ‘I never th ou gh t —’ bu t already her surprise was beg in n in g to fade. W h en she saw M r Aristides, the dream w orld in w hich she had been living for the last few weeks fell apart and broke. T he U n it had seem ed so unreal, because it ivas unreal. It was all a show — it had never been w hat it pretended to be.

‘I understand now ,’ said H ilary. ‘T his - is all yours, isn’t it? ’ ‘Yes, M adam e.’‘A nd the D irec to r?’‘H e is very good ,’ said M r Aristides. ‘I pay h im very well. H e

used to ru n religious m eetings.’H e thoughtfu lly sm oked his cigarette. ‘As you know,

M adam e, I am one o f the richest m en in the w orld. I w anted to use m y w ealth to help hum anity. T he hospital I have bu ilt here is researching a cure for leprosy. Even in these m odern times people have a fear o f leprosy, and w ill no t com e near a leper colony. It m akes a very useful disguise.’

‘So th a t’s w hy this place is a leper colony,’ said Hilary.‘Yes. W e are also researching cancer and other diseases - w ell-

know n doctors and other im portan t people often com e here to see and adm ire ou r w ork. B ut the secret part o f the hospital cannot be seen, even from a plane. A nd o f course, I w ould never be suspected.’ H e smiled. ‘N o one w ould suspect m e o f anything, because I am so very rich.’

‘But w hy?’ asked Hilary. ‘I don’t understand w hy.’

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‘I am a businessm an,’ said M r Aristides simply. ‘I am also a collector. In the past I have collected paintings, sculptures and Chinese pottery. N o w I collect brains — I am slowly collecting all the in telligent young scientists in the w orld and bring ing them here. O n e day every coun try w ill realize that all their scientists are old. A ll the young brains — the doctors, the chemists, the physicists, the surgeons - are all here. So, i f they w ant a scientist, they w ill have to com e and buy them from m e!’

‘You m ean . . .’ H ilary stared at h im . ‘You m ean that all this is ju st for m oney? ’

‘O f course,’ nodded M r Aristides. ‘O therw ise, it w ould no t m ake sense, w ould it? ’

H ilary sighed deeply. ‘N o ,’ she said slowly. ‘It w ouldn’t m ake sense.’ She paused. ‘B ut how do you get all these people to com e here?’

‘I buy them , M adam e, ju st as I buy any th ing else. I buy them w ith m oney or w ith ideas and beliefs. I f they have broken the law, I buy them by offering safety.’

‘T h a t explains,’ said H ilary thoughtfully , ‘w hy everyone here is so different.’

A s I thought, M adam e, you are intelligent. I had you brought to Fez so I could take a look at you. I was pleased that you were com ing here,’ con tinued M r Aristides. ‘These scientists, they are n o t in teresting to talk to. T h e ir wives, too, are often dull. Indeed, wives are only allow ed here i f their husbands can’t w ork properly w ith o u t them .’ H e paused. ‘T his seemed to be the case w ith your husband. T om B etterton is a genius, bu t his w ork here has been very disappointing.’

‘B ut doesn’t that happen all the tim e?’ asked Hilary. ‘These people are in prison. H o w can they w ork properly i f they aren’t free?’

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‘T hey are like birds in a cage,’ said M r Aristides. ‘Eventually they w ill forget they w ere ever free. T hen they w ill all obey.’

‘B ut i f you sell scientists for m oney,’ argued H ilary, ‘surely once they go back to the real w orld they can refuse to w ork for their new employer? T hey’ll be free again — free to do exactly w hat they w an t.’

‘Yes, that is true ,’ said the old m an. ‘B ut w e are w ork ing on different ways to m ake people behave. W e have been experim enting w ith a brain operation that w ill m ake people happy and conten t — bu t w ithou t any desire to be free.’

‘You’ve been experim enting?’ cried H ilary. ‘O n hum an beings?’

‘W e experim ent on people w ho did no t obey,’ said M r Aristides. ‘Such people have their uses.’

H ila ry stared at him . She felt a deep ho rro r o f this sm iling, yellow-faced little m an w ho talked so casually about hum an life. H e seemed so reasonable and so businesslike, w hich only m ade the ho rro r worse.

‘You talk o f freedom , M adam e,’ the old m an continued, ‘and I know you are talk ing about your husband. I am disappointed in Tom B etterton . A nd his w ork has n o t im proved since you arrived.’

‘So let h im go,’ said Hilary. ‘H e w on’t tell anyone about this place, I prom ise.’

‘Perhaps,’ said M r Aristides thoughtfu lly , ‘he w ould no t talk i f you stayed behind, as a hostage. W ould you do that, M adam e?’

H ilary stared past h im in to the shadows. W ould she stay here so that Tom B etterton could go free? B ut M r Aristides d idn’t know that she w asn’t B etterton’s wife, that the w om an he really loved was dead.

She lifted her head. ‘Yes, I w ould stay here,’ she said.

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‘You are brave, M adam e, and loyal and loving,’ said the old m an. ‘These are good qualities. W e w ill talk about this another tim e.’

‘O h no, n o !’ said H ilary suddenly, h id ing her face in her hands. ‘I can’t bear it here!’

‘You m ust no t m in d so m uch, M adam e.’ T he old m an’s voice was soothing. ‘You are horrified by m y plans, bu t w hen you have th ou gh t about them , you w ill gradually com e to accept them .’

‘N ever!’ cried H ilary. ‘N ever!’‘A h,’ said M r Aristides, ‘you speak w ith the passion that

w om en w ith red hair so often have. You have beautiful red hair - as did m y second wife. I have enjoyed talk ing to you. W h en I visit here nex t tim e, w e w ill talk again.’

‘Please let m e leave this place,’ said H ilary desperately. ‘Please! ’ M r Aristides shook his head. ‘I can’t do that,’ he said gently.

‘You w ould tell everyone about m y plans.’‘I w o n’t,’ said H ilary. ‘I prom ise I w o n’t say a w ord. B u t I

m ust get ou t o f this p rison!’‘I don’t believe that you w ould keep m y secret,’ said M r

Aristides. ‘A nd you cam e here w illingly, to be w ith your husband. H ere you have everything you need to live a pleasant life.’

H e got up and touched H ilary gently on the shoulder. ‘In a year or tw o, the red-haired b ird w ill be happy in her cage,’ he said. ‘T h o u g h perhaps no t as in teresting . . .’

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H ilary awoke suddenly the next n igh t and sat up, listening. ‘Tom, do you hear th a t?’‘Yes. It’s a plane, flying low. It happens now and then .’‘I w ondered . . .’ She did no t finish her sentence.H ilary lay awake, th in k in g about her strange in terv iew w ith

M r Aristides. She had no t told Tom about it. T he old m an liked her. C ould she som ehow use that to escape?

II

‘A message, at last,’ said Leblanc w ith excitem ent. ‘O ne o f ou r pilots has been flying over the H igh Atlas m ountains, and he saw a signal being flashed in M orse code.’

H e showed Jessop the message.C- O - G -L-E -P-R- O -S -I-E -S -L

‘W e can ignore the C O G and SL,’ he said, crossing these letters out. .‘T h ey ’re ou r codes. This is the real message.’

LEPR O SIELeblanc looked at it doubtfully. ‘W h at can that m ean?’ ‘Leprosy?’ said Jessop. ‘Are there any leper colonies in that

area?’Leblanc looked at a large m ap on the wall. ‘H ere,’ he pointed,

‘is w here the p ilo t was flying. Let m e th in k .’ H e paused for a few m om ents. ‘Yes, I believe there is an im p ortan t m edical

D estination U nknow n

research hospital som ew here in this area. T hey are researching and treating leprosy there. B ut surely that can’t be the place we want? It has an excellent reputation — the President o f M orocco h im self supports it.’

A clever idea, then ,’ said Jessop. ‘N o one w ill expect that a respectable hospital is h id ing the w o rld ’s leading scientists. A nd only doctors are interested in a leper colony — no one else w ill w ant to visit it. W h o ow ns and pays for the hospital?’

Leblanc left the room and cam e back a few m inutes later w ith an official-looking book in his hand. ‘T he m oney comes from a group o f w ealthy people,’ he said, ‘bu t m ost o f the m oney is supplied by charities ru n by M r Aristides.’

‘So, the hospital is paid for by M r Aristides,’ said Jessop thoughtfully . ‘A nd he was in Fez at the same tim e as O live B etterton .’

‘But, m y friend, this is unbelievable!’ exclaim ed Leblanc. ‘Aristides is so rich, so pow erful! H e is involved in everything — banks, factories, weapons, transport — everything! H e sits in his castle in Spain and controls governm ents!’

‘T hen it isn’t really so surprising that Aristides is involved,’ said Jessop calmly. A s you say, Leblanc, he is a m an o f enorm ous pow er and influence. W e w ere stupid n o t to th in k o f h im before. T he question is,’ he added, ‘w hat are w e going to do about it?’

‘It w o n’t be easy,’ said Leblanc , calm ing dow n. ‘A nd i f w e are w rong — I don’t dare th in k o f it! Even if w e are right, w e still have to prove that w e are right. A nd i f w e investigate, w e could be told to stop — by some pow erful and im portan t people. N o, m y friend, it w o n’t be easy . . .’ H e paused. ‘B ut we w ill do it.’

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Chapter 20Several expensive cars arrived in fron t o f the hospital’s huge iron gates. Inside w ere a French M inister, the A m erican ambassador, a retired top British judge and a jo u rnalis t w ho w orked for a very famous newspaper. Leblanc and Jessop w ere also inside one o f the cars.

‘I hope,’ said the French M inister nervously, ‘that we don’t actually meet the lepers.’

‘N o, no ,’ said the ambassador. ‘I’m told w e’ll be quite safe. A nd I believe the m edical treatm ent o f lepers here is very advanced.’

T he huge gates opened , and the visitors w ere greeted by the D ep u ty D irec to r, D r Van H eidem . ‘W elcom e, w elcom e, m y friends,’ he said. ‘As prom ised , M r A ristides h im se lf has arrived from Spain, and he is w a itin g for you inside. Please follow m e.’

M r Aristides greeted his visitors in a large com fortable lounge, w here they w ere served drinks by the dark-skinned servants dressed in w hite robes.

‘T his is a w onderful place,’ said the French M inister, looking round.

‘Yes, I am very proud o f m y hospital,’ said M r Aristides. ‘It is m y final gift to hum anity. N o expense has been spared.’

‘A nd w e’re doing very im portan t w ork here,’ added Van H eidem w ith enthusiasm. ‘W e are getting very good results in ou r treatm ent o f leprosy and other diseases.’

A delicious m eal was served to the visitors, w ho w ere hungry after their long jo u rn ey to the hospital. T hey w ere given fine w ines to d rin k and w ere feeling very con ten ted w hen they began their tour o f the hospital.

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T he to u r took tw o hours, and was very thorough. T he visitors w ere im pressed w ith the expensive m edical equipm ent, the w ell-qualified staff and the endless w hite corridors. Some people asked detailed questions about liv ing conditions and the people w ho w orked there, w hich Van H eidem answ ered easily. Jessop and Leblanc w alked beh ind the others.

‘W e haven’t found any th ing yet,’ w hispered Leblanc, his voice w orried . ‘It has taken m e weeks to arrange this visit. I f we are w ron g about this, we w ill lose ou r jo b s!’

‘I t’s no t over yet,’ said Jessop. ‘O u r friends are here, I ’m sure o f it. I t’s n o t really surprising that they are hard to find.’

‘B ut w e need evidence!’ said Leblanc. ‘I f there is no evidence, n o th ing w ill be done. T he French M inister, the A m erican ambassador — they don’t believe us. T hey say that Aristides is above suspicion.’

‘Keep calm , Leblanc,’ replied his colleague. ‘I do have some evidence that ou r friends are here. I’m carry ing a very small m achine that has detected signs o f radioactivity — just as we planned. A ll these corridors are m eant to confuse us, bu t there is part o f the bu ild ing that we have n o t seen.’

‘B ut you know it is there because you have detected signs o f radioactiv ity?’

‘Exactly,’ said Jessop. ’It is ju st the same as w hen w e found the pearls and the pain t on the door o f the car. T his tim e w e can’t actually see anyth ing , bu t the signs are there.’

‘B u t is that enough, m y friend?’ asked Leblanc. ‘Is that enough evidence to convince people w ho do no t w ant to believe?’

‘Perhaps this evidence w on’t convince all o f them ,’ said Jessop, ‘bu t I hope it w ill convince some o f them . T here’s the jo u rna lis t — he w ould love to have such a big story for his newspaper. A nd there’s the m an w ho used to be the top ju dg e in

Agatha Christie

Britain. H e m ay be old, bu t he is still a m an o f great intelligence — and he w on’t ignore evidence.’

W h en the to u r was over the visitors w ere served m ore drinks in the lounge. T he French M inister congratu lated M r Aristides on establishing such a fine hospital. A n d now ,’ he said, ‘it is tim e for us to leave. W e have seen everything,’ — he paused — ‘and we are very im pressed w ith the w ork you are doing here.’

Into the silence a voice suddenly spoke. ‘I w ould like to ask a question, i f I may,’ said Jessop.

‘O f course,’ said D r Van H eidem . ‘W h a t w ould you like to know ? ’

‘W e’ve m et a lo t o f people w ho w ork here,’ said Jessop, ‘but there’s one person — a friend o f m ine — w ho I haven’t seen.’

‘A friend o f yours?’ D r Van H eidem said politely, surprised. ‘W ell, tw o friends actually,’ said Jessop, ‘T om and Olive

B etterton . I believe they’re bo th here. C an I talk to them before I g o ? ’

D r Van H eidem ’s reactions w ere perfect. H is eyes opened in w ide and polite surprise. H e frow ned in a puzzled way. ‘B etterton — B ette rto n — no, I ’m afraid w e have no one o f that nam e here.’

‘T here’s an A m erican, too ,’ said Jessop. ‘A ndrew Peters, a nuclear chem ist, I believe.’ H e tu rn ed to the A m erican ambassador. ‘A m I righ t, Sir?’

T he ambassador looked at Jessop and to ok a long tim e to answer. ‘Yes, you’re righ t,’ he said at last. ‘I w ould like to see A ndrew Peters.’

Van H eidem still looked confused. Jessop looked quickly at M r Aristides. T he old m an’s face showed noth ing .

‘You know the nam e o f Thom as B etterton , don’t yo u?’Jessop asked Van H eidem .

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Just for a second Van H eidem hesitated. H e started to tu rn his head towards M r Aristides, bu t stopped h im self in tim e. ‘Thom as B etterton ,’ he said. ‘W hy, yes, I th in k . . .’

‘H e disappeared six m onths ago,’ said the journalist. ‘It was front-page news all over the w orld. T he police have been looking for B etterton everyw here. A nd you say h e ’s here?’

‘N o !’ said Van H eidem sharply. ‘You are m istaken. B e tterton is no t here. You have seen everything there is to see.’

‘N o t every th ing ,’ said Jessop quietly. ‘W e haven’t seen a young m an called Torquil Ericsson, or D r B arron.’

‘A h !’ said Van H eidem . ‘I understand now. You are ta lk ing about the people w ho w ere killed here in M orocco — in a plane crash. It was very sad.’

‘So, I am w rong?’ said Jessop. ‘You say these people are not here?’ ‘B ut how can they be, m y dear Sir, since they w ere all killed

in this plane crash? All their bodies w ere found, I believe.’‘T he bodies,’ said Jessop slowly and clearly, ‘w ere too bu rned

to be identified.’T here was a m ovem ent beh ind h im . ‘So the bodies o f these

people could n o t be properly identified?’ asked the retired British judge, Lord Alverstoke.

‘N o, m y lord ,’ said Jessop, ‘and I have evidence that at least one person — M rs B etterton — survived the plane crash.’

‘Evidence? W h a t evidence, M rje sso p ? ’ said Lord Alverstoke. ‘M rs B e tte rton was w earing a necklace o f pearls w hen she left

Fez,’ explained Jessop. ‘O n e o f these pearls was found h a lf a m ile from w here the plane crashed.’

‘H o w do you know that this pearl cam e from M rs B ette rton ’s necklace?’

‘Because m y colleague, M onsieur Leblanc, and I m arked all the pearls,’ said Jessop. ‘W e believed that M rs B etterton was

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going to jo in her husband, Tom B etterton , w ho is w anted by the police. M ore pearls w ere found, and we also found a m ark on a car, carry ing six people, w hich was m ade by one o f the passengers w ith lum inous paint.’

‘Very in teresting,’ said Lord Alverstoke. ‘Very interesting indeed.’

‘A nd w here was this car last seen? ’ asked M r Aristides, com ing to life.

‘A t an old arm y airfield, Sir.’ Jessop told them the exact location.

‘T ha t is hundreds o f miles from here,’ said M r Aristides. ‘Even i f you are right, and the plane crash was faked, w hy do you th in k these people are here?’

‘O ne o f our pilots saw a signal,’ said Jessop, ‘saying that these people w ere at a leper colony.’

‘It is an in teresting idea,’ said M r Aristides. ‘But you are w rong, quite w rong. These people are no t here.’ H e spoke w ith calm authority. ‘B u t you are welcom e to search for them .’

‘I’d like to do that,’ said Jessop. ‘W e’ll start ou r search in the fourth corridor from the second laboratory, tu rn in g to the left at the end.’

D r Van H eidem m ade a sudden surprised m ovem ent, and a glass crashed to the floor. Jessop smiled.

‘It is an interesting idea,’ M r Aristides said again, gently. H e looked at his w atch. ‘B ut you w ill excuse m e, gentlem en, i f I suggest that you should leave now. You have a long drive back to the a irport.’

B oth Leblanc and Jessop realized that this was an im portan t m om ent. M r Aristides was using his strong personality, daring them to accuse h im openly. T he M inister ju s t w anted to leave w ithou t doing anything, and though the others w eren’t sure,

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they hesitated to act against som eone so rich and pow erfu l as M r Aristides. A nd Jessop and Leblanc cou ldn’t act w ith ou t the support o f som eone in authority, som eone im portant.

‘I do no t th in k ,’ said a cold, clear voice in to the silence, ‘that w e should leave ju st yet.’ It was Lord Alverstoke. ‘T here appear to be questions that need to be answ ered.’

‘B ut this is ridiculous,’ said M r Aristides. ‘T here is no evidence, no p ro o f at all that these people are here.’

‘Yes, there is.’ D r Van H eidem tu rn ed round in surprise, and everyone stared at the M oroccan servant w ho had stepped forw ard. H e was a tall m an w ith a dark face and was w earing w hite robes — bu t he had spoken w ith a strong A m erican accent.

‘A ndrew Peters, Torquil Ericsson, Tom and O live B etterton and D r B arron are all here.’ T he m an took a step towards the A m erican ambassador. ‘I know it’s rather hard to recognize m e at the m om ent, Sir,’ he said, ‘bu t I am A ndrew Peters.’

M r Aristides m ade a faint, angry noise before sitting back in his chair. T here was no expression on his face.

‘T here are m any scientists h idden away here,’ said Peters. ‘T h ere ’s a w hole secret area that you haven’t seen.’

‘Goodness m e!’ exclaim ed the A m erican ambassador. H e looked closely at the m an in fron t o f him . ‘Even now, Peters, I can hardly recognize you w ith that dark colouring on your face. W h a t’s your official FBI num ber? ’

‘81347128, Sir.’‘A nd yo u r in itials?’ asked the Ambassador.‘B.A.P.G., Sir.’ T he ambassador nodded. ‘T hat is correct,’ he

said. ‘A nd you say, Peters, that there are m any scientists living here? ’ ‘Yes, Sir. Som e are here w illingly, and some are no t.’‘In that case,’ said the M inister, stepping forw ard, ‘there m ust

be a th orou gh investigation.’

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‘Just a m om ent, please.’ M r Aristides raised a hand. ‘It w ould seem that I have been very w rong to trust the people in charge here.’ H e looked coldly at D r Van H eidem . ‘I do n o t know exactly w hat you have been doing here, Van H eidem , bu t I obviously know n o th in g about it - no th ing at all.’

T here was au thority in M r A ristides’ voice. ‘I f you have been keeping scientists here,’ he continued, ‘it is now over. A nd I ’m sure I do n o t need to tell you, gentlem en,’ - he tu rn ed to the visitors - ‘that i f any th ing has happened here that is against the law, it is n o th in g to do w ith m e.’

‘Because o f the w ealth, pow er and influence o f the famous M r Aristides, he w ould no t be arrested,’ th ou gh t Jessop. B ut he had been defeated, and his plan had failed.

T he M inister tu rn ed to Van H eidem . ‘I repeat,’ he said, ‘that there m ust be a thorough investigation.’

Van H eidem ’s face was pale. ‘C om e this way,’ he said. ‘I w ill show you everything.’

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Chapter 21‘I feel like I’ve w oken up from a nightm are,’ sighed Hilary, stretching her arms above her head. T hey had arrived that m orning at a hotel in Tangier, and were now sitting outside on the terrace.

‘Yes, it was a nightm are,’ agreed Tom B etterton , ‘bu t it’s over now.’

Jessop cam e along the terrace and sat dow n beside them . ‘W h ere ’s A ndy Peters?’ asked H ilary.

‘H e’ll be here soon,’ said Jessop. ‘H e has som ething to do first.’

‘So Peters was one o f your agents,’ said H ilary. ‘H e pu t lum inous paint on that car and used his lead cigarette case to leave beh in d signs o f radioactivity. I had no idea w hat he was doing.’

‘N o ,’ said Jessop, ‘you w ere bo th very good at keeping secrets. A nd Peters isn’t really one o f m y agents — he works for A m erica.’

‘So th a t’s w hat you m eant w hen you said I w ould have p ro tection i f I reached Tom. You m eant A ndy Peters.’

Jessop nodded. ‘A nd I hope you’re no t disappointed,’ he said, ‘that in the end you d idn’t die.’

H ila ry shook her head in disbelief. ‘N o w I can’t believe that I ever w an ted to end m y life,’ she said. ‘I’ve been Olive B etterton so long that it’s confusing to be H ilary Craven again.’

‘A h ,’ said Jessop, standing up. ‘T h ere ’s m y friend, Leblanc. I m ust go and speak to h im .’ H e w alked along the terrace, leaving T om and H ilary alone.

‘W ill you do one m ore th in g for m e?’ asked B etterton quickly.‘Yes, o f course. W h at is it?’ H ilary asked.‘W alk along the terrace w ith m e, and then say that I ’ve gone

up to m y room .’

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‘W hy? W h a t are you . . . ? ’‘I ’m leaving now ,’ he said, ‘w hile I still can. I f I stay here, I ’ll

be arrested.’H ilary looked at h im w ith surprise — she had forgotten

B ette rton’s problem s. ‘B u t w here w ill you g o ?’‘A nyw here,’ he said. ‘I’ve got m oney hidden away under a

different nam e.’‘So you did take m oney?’‘O f course I took m oney.’‘But they’ll find you eventually.’‘I don’t th in k so. D o n ’t you realize that m y face is different

after the plastic surgery? T hey have an old description o f me. I’ll be safe.’

H ilary looked at h im doubtfully. ‘Isn’t it be tte r to be arrested?’ she said. ‘You w o n’t stay in prison for long. But i f you go now, you’ll be hun ted for the rest o f your life.’

‘You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘You don’t understand at all. C om e on, le t’s go.’

H ilary w alked w ith h im slowly along the terrace. She d idn’t know w hat to do or w hat to say. Despite everything they’d shared, T om B etterton was still a stranger to her.

T hey arrived at a door to the road. ‘I’ll go out here,’ said B etterton . ‘G oodbye.’

‘G ood luck,’ said H ilary slowly.B ut as B etterton opened the door, tw o m en stood there,

blocking his way. ‘Thom as B etterton , you are under arrest,’ said the first m an, a police official. T he second m an m oved beh ind B etterton to block his escape.

B etterton laughed. ‘T here’s only one problem ,’ he said. ‘I ’m not Thom as B etterton . I’ve been calling m yself Thom as B etterton bu t I ’m not really him . I m et B ette rton in Paris and

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took his place. Ask this lady i f you don’t believe m e.’ H e po in ted to H ilary. ‘She pretended to be m y w ife.’ H ilary nodded.

‘B ut because I’m not T om B etterton ,’ he continued , ‘I d idn’t know w hat his w ife looked like. I though t she was O live B etterton .’

‘So tha t’s w hy you pretended to know me! ’ exclaim ed H ilary. B ette rton laughed again. ‘I’m no t Tom B etterton ,’ he repeated.

‘Look at any photo o f h im and you’ll see I’m telling the tru th .’ T he second m an stepped forw ard. It was A ndy Peters, and

w hen he spoke his voice was cold and hard. ‘I know you don’t look like your photo any m ore,’ he said. ‘B ut you are Tom B ette rton — and I can prove it.’

H e held B ette rton ’s arm firm ly and took o ff the m an’s jacket. ‘I f you are T om B etterton , you have a scar in the shape o f a Z in the bend o f your righ t elbow .’ As he spoke, he ripped the shirtsleeve upwards.

‘T here it is,’ Peters said, po in ting. ‘T here are tw o laboratory assistants in A m erica w ho w ill swear that that scar belongs to T om B etterton . I know about it because Elsa w ro te and told m e.’

‘Elsa?’ B ette rton stared at him . H e began to shake nervously. ‘Elsa? W h at about Elsa? ’

‘She is the reason you are being arrested,’ replied Peters.‘You are under arrest for m urder,’ the police official said.

‘T he m urder o f your first wife, Elsa B etterton .’

Chapter 22‘I’m so sorry, O live,’ said A ndy Peters. ‘You m ust believe that. Because o f you, I w ould have given B etterton another chance. I w arned you that he w ould be safer i f he stayed in the U n it - even though I’ve com e halfw ay across the w orld to m ake h im pay for w hat he d id to Elsa.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said H ilary. ‘W h o are you?’‘I though t you knew ,’ said Peters. ‘M y real nam e is Boris

A ndrei Pavlov G lydr — I’m Elsa’s cousin, from Poland. I w ent to university in A m erica and becam e an A m erican citizen called A ndrew Peters. W h en the w ar began, I w en t back to Europe and helped Elsa and m y uncle escape from Germ any. Elsa — I’ve to ld you about Elsa. She was a brillian t scientist. It was Elsa w ho really discovered Z E Fission. Tom B ette rton was w ork ing as an assistant to m y uncle, D r M annheim , and he m arried Elsa on purpose because he realized how im portan t her w ork was. W hen Elsa discovered Z E Fission, he poisoned her.’

‘O h, no, no .’‘N o one suspected h im then ,’ said Peters. ‘B e tte rton pretended

to be heartbroken by Elsa’s death, and w orked very hard. T hen he announced that he had discovered ZE Fission. H e got w hat he w anted — fame and im portance. T hen he cam e to England and w orked at H arw ell.

‘I was uneasy about the last letter I had received from Elsa. H er illness and later her death seemed very m ysterious. W h en I finally got back to Am erica I started asking questions, and I had m edical tests done on her body, w hich proved that Elsa was poisoned. O ne o f B etterton’s friends, W alter Griffiths, heard about this, and must have told B etterton w hen he visited h im in England. B etterton becam e nervous, and w hen he was approached by Aristides’

D estination U nknow n

agent — a w om an called Carol Speeder — he decided to disappear, rather than be arrested for m urder. H e asked for plastic surgery to change his face. H e was never a brilliant scientist — th a t’s w hy he couldn’t w ork properly at the U n it.’

‘So you followed h im ?’ asked H ilary.‘Yes. I was so determ ined to find B etterton that I followed h im

to the U nit. O ne o f m y scientist friends had also been approached by Carol Speeder. W h en I cam e to England I pretended that I was disappointed w ith m y life, and that I w anted to share m y scientific know ledge - and soon she approached me, too .’ H is face looked grim . ‘Elsa was an im p ortan t scientist and a beautiful and gentle w om an. She was killed by the m an she loved and trusted, w ho then took credit for her b rillian t w ork.’

‘I see now ,’ said H ilary, ‘I understand.’‘I w ro te to you w hen I got to E ngland ,’ said Peters, ‘using m y

Polish nam e. I told you the facts.’ H e looked at her. ‘I suppose you d idn’t believe me. You never answered. T hen I w en t to the British Secret Service. I d idn’t trust anyone, bu t eventually Jessop and I m ade a plan together.’ H e paused. ‘A nd now it’s over. B ette rton w ill be taken back to A m erica w here he w ill go on trial for Elsa’s m urder.’

H e stared dow n over the sunlit gardens towards the sea.‘A nd in the U n it,’ he said slowly, ‘I m et you, Olive, and fell

in love w ith you. B ut I ’m the m an responsible for sending your husband to prison — and perhaps death. I know you’ll never forgive m e for that. B ut I w anted to tell you everything m yself before I go.’ H e stood up.

‘W ait!’ said H ilary, stretching ou t her hand. ‘W ait. T h ere ’s som ething you don’t know. I ’m no t B etterton’s wife. O live B ette rton died in the plane crash, and Jessop asked m e to take her place.’

99

Agatha C hristie

Peters stared at her in astonishm ent. ‘Y ou’re not Olive B etterton? ’

‘N o .’‘I don’t believe it! ’ he said, sitting dow n heavily. ‘Olive, m y

darling.’‘D o n’t call m e Olive. M y nam e’s H ilary. H ilary Craven.’ ‘H ilary? I’ll have to get used to that.’ H e pu t his hand over

hers.At the o ther end o f the terrace, Jessop and Leblanc w ere

talking. ‘I’m afraid,’ said the Frenchm an, ‘that we w ill no t be able to arrest Aristides.’

‘N o ,’ said Jessop, look ing over Leblanc’s shoulder. ‘H e ’s too rich and pow erful. B ut he’s lost a lo t o f m oney, and he’s old — he can’t live forever.’

‘W h at are you look ing at, m y friend?’‘Those tw o ,’ said Jessop. ‘I sent H ilary Craven on a jo u rney

to an un k n o w n destination. But it seems that her jo u rn ey ’s end is the usual one after all. As Shakespeare says, “Journeys end in lovers m eeting .’”

loo

C h a r a c t er l ist

Mr jessop: works for the British Secret Service

Colonel Wharton: works for the British Secret Service

Thomas (Tom) Betterton: a famous British scientist who discovered ZE Fission. He was first married to Elsa and is now married to Olive.

Dr Mannheim: the father of Elsa, Thomas Betterton’s first wife, and uncle of Boris Glydr

Olive Betterton: the new, second wife of the scientist, Thomas Betterton

Walter Griffiths: an American friend of Thomas Betterton

Carol Speeder: an American friend of Thomas Betterton

Major Boris Glydr: from Poland, the cousin of Thomas Betterton’s first wife, Elsa

Hilary Craven: a woman travelling to Casablanca, Morocco (her daughter Brenda has recently died, and her husband Nigel has left her)

Mrs Baker: a middle-aged American woman travelling in Morocco

Miss Hetherington: a middle-aged Englishwoman travelling in Morocco

Henri Laurier: a Frenchman working in Morocco

Mr Aristides: an old man from Greece, one of the richest men in the world

Andrew (Andy) Peters: an American scientist

Torquil Ericsson: a Norwegian scientist

Dr Barron: a French scientist

C haracter list

Helga Needheim: a German scientist

Dr Van Heidem: the Deputy Director who manages the Unit

Dr Rubec: a Swiss doctor who works at the Unit

Miss Jennson: a woman who works for the Director at the Unit

Mademoiselle La Roche: in charge of the dress department at the Unit

Dr Simon Murchison: a scientist who works with Tom Betterton. He is married to Bianca

Bianca Murchison: Italian wife of Simon Murchison

Monsieur Leblanc: works for the French Secret Service, and is a colleague of Jessop

The Director: the man in charge of the Unit

Mohammed: a Moroccan who works at the Unit

French Minister: an important man in the French government

American ambassador: an important man representing America in Morocco

Journalist: a man who writes for a famous newspaper

Lord Alverstoke: a retired top British judge

C u lt u r a l n o t e s

World War II (1939 to 1945)The war which Jessop refers to at the beginning of the book is the Second World War. The war began with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939. Great Britain, which had treaties with Poland, declared war on Germany when it refused to withdraw from Poland.

Nuclear fissionNuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom is split into smaller parts, producing a massive amount of energy compared to that in a similar mass of chemical fuel such as gasoline. At the time of the story it was seen as a big advance, as it is a sustainable energy source. We now know that the products of this reaction are very radioactive and remain so for a significant amount of time. This gives rise to concerns over nuclear waste, as well as the potential to create nuclear weapons which can have devastating effects.

HarwellThis was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s. Oxfordshire was chosen as a site for this because it was remote, had a good water supply and had good transport links. It was also close to a university with a nuclear physics laboratory. The laboratory was located on an airfield so that the aircraft hangars could contain the nuclear reactors. The laboratory was used to continue the research in nuclear fission both for military purposes and for generating energy.

Morocco under French ruleMorocco remained independent until 1912. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the country became weak and unstable. This resulted in intervention by Europe to protect the European investments which were threatened by the unrest. Europe also demanded economic privileges

103

Cultural notes

within the country. France established a protectorate over Morocco, which means that the country was protected by France against other countries. Although Morocco retained its autonomy as a ‘state’ under international law, it was controlled by the French government until 1956.

LeprosyLeprosy is a disease caused by bacteria (present in the nose and throat) which can cause damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. A person who has leprosy is called a leper. The disease was feared because it causes visible disfigurement and disability, and it was incurable and believed to be highly contagious. Therefore in the past, leper colonies were formed to create a place where people who had the disease could live together but isolated from the rest of society. These were quite widespread. Some colonies were located in remote locations to ensure quarantine. They were often run by monks or nuns.

Leprosy still exists today, but we now know that it is not transmitted as easily as people used to think. Leprosy colonies still exist in some regions around the world.

Hand of FatimaThis is a sign depicting the open right hand. It represents blessings, power and strength and is believed to protect against evil. The name celebrates the daughter of the prophet Muhammed in the Islamic religion, although it also exists in other cultures with a different name, such as the hand of Mary in Christianity and the hand of Miriam in Jewish tradition.

Marie Curie: radioactivityMarie Curie was a physicist and chemist, famous for her research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize for her work. Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and then went on to receive another Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She is one

104

C ultural notes

of only two people who have been awarded a Nobel Prize in two different fields. Sadly, because of her work on radioactive materials, she developed cancer and died in 1934.

The Cold WarThis story was written in 1954, some years after the beginning of the Cold War, which was a time of great tension between the USSR and USA. The Cold War (1946-1991) was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension and economic competition between the USSR and its allies, and the USA and its allies. The military forces never had a major battle but they competed to develop nuclear weapons, and in the race to put the first people into space. They also provided extensive aid to vulnerable states in order to gain support. Because the way of life in the USSR and the USA was so different, they saw each other as enemies and used spies to discover important information about each other. This led to a lot of suspicion between the two countries. The Cold War had times of relative calm, and times of high tension. It ended in 1991 when the USSR collapsed, leaving the USA as the dominant military power.

Polish ResistanceThe Polish Resistance movement in World War II was the largest resistance movement in the part of Europe which was occupied by the Nazis. It covered both the German and Soviet zones of occupation. It was an important part of the anti-fascist movement in Europe, and played an important part in disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern front. It also provided military intelligence to Britain, and was responsible for saving the lives of many Jewish people affected by the Holocaust.

Creating a ‘better world’Because of the Cold War and the tension between the large countries of the world at this time, scientific work in this period was closely checked

105

C ultural notes

by governments - both from the scientist’s own country, and also by spies from other countries. This is why the scientists, particularly Dr Barron, want to work somewhere away from society, where their work can be independent and secret.

Fellow-travellersIt is possible that Agatha Christie had a negative meaning attached to this phrase. In the 1950s it was used as a term to refer to a person who sympathized with the beliefs of an organization, or cooperated in its activities, but without having formal membership in that group. In the early days of the Soviet Union, it was used without a negative meaning to describe writers and artists who shared the aims of the Russian Revolution but who didn’t join the Communist party. When the phrase became fashionable in America in the 1940s and 1950s, it had taken on a negative meaning - for a person who held Communist beliefs even if they weren’t fully part of the Communist party.

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Keyn = noun v = verbphr v = phrasal verb adj = adjective adv = adverb excl = exclamation exp = expression

abandon (v)to leave a person for ever, and to cause them great sadness by leaving

abruptly (adv)doing something in a sudden or unpleasant manner

accuse (v)to tell someone that you believe they did something wrong or dishonest

adapt (v)to change your ideas or behaviour in order to live in a new situation

adjust (v)to change the way you think or behave in order to get used to a new situation

aerodrome (n)an enclosed area where small aeroplanes can land and take off

agent (n)someone who works for the police or government

arrest (v)when the police take someone to a police station because they believe they may have committed a crime

;Io8

Glossary

arrogant (adj)behaving in a proud and unpleasant way, because you think you are more important than other people

bandage (v)to cover in long, thin, strips of cloth used to cover cuts and injuries

bend (n)the angle which is made in a long, straight object when it is folded

betray (v)to give information to an enemy, putting your country or friends at risk

bitter (adj); bitterly (adv)feeling angry because you are disappointed about something, or think something is unfair

block (v)to get in someone’s way and prevent them from going past you

blood pressure (n)a person’s blood pressure is a measurement of the force at which blood is pumped around their body by the heart

bow (v)to bend your body towards someone to show respect or to greet them

breathlessly (adv)if you do something breathlessly, you have difficulty in breathing properly, for example, because you have been running or because you are afraid or excited

bump into (v)to accidentally hit something while you are moving

burglar (n)a thief who enters a house or other building using force

-109

Glossary

by marriage (exp)if a person is related to another person by marriage, it means that the relations of the married couple are now part of the same extended family because of the marriage

carriage (n)one of the separate sections of a train in which passengers sit

change of scene (exp)going to a different place, usually so that you can have a rest from a difficult situation

charity (n)an organization which raises money to help people who are ill or otherwise disadvantaged

code (n)a system of replacing words in a message with other words or symbols so that nobody can understand it unless they know the system

collapse (n)a state of collapse is when a person becomes so stressed, anxious, or frightened that they are ill and cannot behave normally

Colonel (n)a senior army officer

colony (n)a place where a particular group of people live together, because they share something - here it is leprosy, but it can also refer to an artists’ colony, for example

compass (n)an instrument with a dial and a magnetic needle that you use for finding the direction of north, south, east and west

n o

Glossary

concussion (n)feeling sick and confused after hitting your head hard, as in a serious accident

convincing (adj)being able to make you believe that a story or thing is true

cover story (n)something you invent about yourself in order to hide your secret activities, and explain why you are doing certain things

crate (n)a large box used for transporting or storing things

cure (n)a medicine or other treatment that makes an ill person better by getting rid of their disease

deceptive (adj)making you believe something which is not true

defeat (v)to beat someone in a game or contest, or in a war

degree (n)a qualification that you get after completing a course of study at a university

desert (n)a large area of land, usually in a hot region, where there is almost no water, rain, trees or plants

despair (n)the feeling of hopelessness; that everything is wrong and nothing will improve

destination (n)the place you are travelling to

Glossary

devoted (adj)caring for or loving something or someone very much

discipline (n)the practice of having rules of behaviour and making people follow these rules because they will be punished if they don’t

elbow (n)the part of your arm where the upper and lower halves of the arm are joined; the place where it bends

envy (v)to wish you could have the same thing or quality that someone else has

evidence (n)something you see, experience, read or are told, that makes you believe something is true or really happened

experiment (v)to try out new things, especially to try out new scientific tests on someone or something, when you don’t know what the results will be

eyelash (n)the hairs which grow on the edges of your eyelids

fake (adj)something which has been made to look as if it is genuine when it isn’t

fame (n)something you achieve by your work or talents, when lots of people know who you are and think you are very special and important

fanatical (adj)a disapproving term to describe someone whose ideas or behaviour are too extreme

Glossary

FBI (n)the Federal Bureau of Investigation - the American organization which protects the country against terrorism and other major crimes

fellow (adj)being in the same situation as another person, sharing an experience

fellow-travellers (n)(see Cultural notes)

fission (n)the splitting of the nuclei (the central part) of atoms of uranium or plutonium to produce a large amount of energy or cause a large explosion (see Cultural notes)

frown (v)to move your eyebrows together because you are annoyed, worried, or thinking

genius (n)a person who has great ability, skill or intelligence

glow (n)a light which shines constantly but not very brightly

good-tempered (adj)being naturally friendly and not easily getting angry

gossip (n)informal conversation, often about other people’s private affairs

grave (n)the place where a dead person is buried

Glossary

grim (adj) serious and worried

handkerchief (n)a small piece of material that you can use for blowing your nose, or for wiping your eyes

harsh (adj)unkind, cruel and without any sympathy

hostage (n)someone who is kept as a prisoner by a person or organization, and who may be in danger if other people don’t do what that person or organization wants

humanity (n)all the people in the world

impressed (adj)admiring something and thinking it is good, special or important

independence(n)the freedom to live as you want and think what you want to think

indoors (adv) inside a building

inspiring (adj)giving other people new ideas and enthusiasm

intense (adj)very focussed and powerful, and extreme

judge (n)the person in a court of law who decides about the law, for example, and how criminals should be punished

114

Glossary

kidnap (v)to take someone away illegally and by force, and usually to hold them prisoner in order to demand something from their family, employer, or government

knit (v)to make something from wool using two long needles

knitting (n)an item made of wool, such as a piece of clothing, which is being knitted

laboratory (n)a building or room where scientific experiments and research are performed

lead (n)a soft, grey, heavy metal that can protect against radioactivity

leper (n)a person who has the disease leprosy

leprosy (n)a disease which damages the nerves, eyes and skin, causing physical damage and disability

link (n)a connection with another thing, place or person

longing (n)a strong desire for someone or something

loyal (adj)a term to describe someone who you can trust and who supports you

luminous (adj)shining or glowing in the dark

115

Glossary

lump (n)

a small, solid piece of a particular object; here it means a bump or hard area of snow

mattress (n)the comfortable part of a bed which you sleep on

mess (n)something that is very untidy

Minister (n)an important member of a government; also a person, lower in rank than an ambassador, who represents their government in a foreign country

misery (n)great and extreme unhappiness

Morse code (n)a code used for sending messages, in which each letter of the alphabet can be represented by short and long sounds or flashes of light, or written down as dots or dashes

nuclear science (n)the scientific study of nuclear energy, the energy which is created when the nuclei of atoms are split or combined

nun (n)a female member of a religious community

obey (v)to follow an order or command and to do as you are told

out o f character (exp)unlike someone’s usual behaviour or personality

password (n)a secret word or phrase that a person must know in order to be allowed to enter a secret place, or use something such as a computer

116

Glossary

patron (n)a rich person who supports and gives money to an organization or group, and who uses their fame and importance to get publicity for the group

pearl (n)a hard, round object which is white or cream; it grows inside the shell of an oyster and is used for jewellery

plastic surgery (n)an operation to change, repair or improve a person’s appearance

pottery (n)objects made from clay

prescription (n)a form or letter which a doctor gives you, saying which medicine you need to have

radioactivity (n)powerful and often harmful rays of energy

recover (v)to become well again

refuel (v)to put more petrol into a plane or other vehicle so it can continue its journey

Registry (n)a place where all the official records of a place or people are kept

Resistance (n)in a war situation, people within a country who oppose and try to attack the enemy, but who aren’t in the official army, are called the Resistance

117

Glossary

reward (n)something you are given, for example money or a prize, because you have done something good or found something useful or lost

rip (v)to tear something in a quick and strong way

robe (n)a long, loose piece of clothing

runway (n)a long strip of ground with a hard, flat surface where aeroplanes take off and land at an airport

ruthless (adj)being very harsh and cruel, and doing anything to get what you want

scar (n)a mark on the skin which is left after a cut or burn has healed

scented (adj)having a pleasant smell, for example from flowers or perfume

scornfully (adv)in a way that shows you don’t respect or value another person, and think that what they say is silly and worthless

slave (n)someone who is the property of another person and who has to work for that person, earning very little or no money

sleeping pill (n)a small, round tablet of medicine which helps a person fall asleep

Glossary

speech (n)a formal talk or lecture which a person gives to an audience

spiteful (adj) being nasty and unkind

spy (n)a person who tries to find out secret information about other countries or organizations; if you are ‘being spied on’ it means that people are watching and recording what you do and say

stable (adj)balanced, calm and unlikely to change

station wagon (n)a car with a long body, a door at the back, and a lot of space behind the back seats, also known as an estate car, useful for carrying lots of luggage

stern (adj)very serious and strict

stiff (adj)about the body: not moving as easily as normal; about a person: very formal, very correct in manner

suffering (n)a serious pain in the body or the mind

survive (v)to experience a dangerous situation and live

survivor (n)someone who does not die in a dangerous situation

suspicious (adj)something about a person which makes you think that they are involved in a crime or a dishonest activity

119

Glossary

sway (v)to move slowly from one side to the other, often because you are ill or shocked

swear (v)to promise that you are telling the truth about something

take credit for (exp)to let other people think that you are responsible for doing something good or important, when it was actually done by someone else

tinted (adj)having a small amount of a particular colour

touring (adj)travelling around and seeing sights; here it is used to describe an open- topped vehicle which people can use to go sightseeing and see different places

trail (n)a series of marks or other signs left by someone or something as they move along; a path or rough road

traitor (n)someone who secretly helps the enemy and puts their country in danger

trapped (adj)unable to escape from a place or situation

trial (n)a formal meeting in a court of law where a judge and jury listen to evidence and decide whether a person is guilty of a crime

unconscious (adj)being in a state similar to sleep, as a result of a shock, accident, or injury

130

Glossary

uneasily (adv)in a way that shows worry and concern because something is wrong

unit (n)a group of people who live and work together, used in this story to refer to the research centre in the desert

uplifted (adj)feeling a lot better and happier because of something you have seen or heard

virus (n)a microscopic organism that can cause disease

wink (v)to look toward someone and close one eye very briefly, usually as a signal that something is a joke or a secret

willingly (adv)doing something because you are happy to do it and have no objection to it

wrinkled (adj)having lots of the lines which form on a person’s face as they grow old

youth (n)the part of a society which is young and inexperienced

121

COLLINS ENGLISH READERS

Th e A g a th a C h r is t ie S e r ie s

The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Man in the Brown Suit The Murder of Roger Ackroyd The Murder at the Vicarage Peril at End House Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Death in the Clouds Appointment with Death NorM?The Moving Finger Sparkling Cyanide Crooked House They Came to Baghdad They Do It With Mirrors A Pocket Full of Rye After the Funeral Destination Unknown Hickory Dickory Dock 4.50 From Paddington Cat Among the Pigeons

Visit www.collinselt.com/agathachristie for language activities and teacher’s notes based on this story.

122

r sBN 978-0-00-745170-8

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