Chapter 23 third quarter
At noon in mid-September, I walked into the Palace Hotel with steady and confident steps, as if I was born accustomed to stepping on high heels to shuttle between the most exclusive hotels in the world.I was wearing a dark red fine wool suit, my shoulder-length hair was just carefully trimmed, and I was wearing a well-made felt hat with feathers, which was made by Ms. Boysenart of Tangier. According to her, at that time, the French ladies called such hats "the highlight".To go with it were a pair of super high-heeled crocodile shoes from the best shoe store on the Avenue Pasteur.I carried a small clutch and a pair of pearl gray calfskin gloves.Several people turned their heads to look at me, but I pretended to be calm.
Behind me, a doorman is pushing a vanity case, two Goya suitcases, and a pile of hat boxes.The rest of the luggage, the furniture, and the ordered linen would arrive unimpeded the next day across the Channel and overland to Madrid.How could it not be a green light all the way?All customs procedures are stamped one after another by the most official department in the world - the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.I came here by plane, the first time in my life, from Sania Ramel to Seville's Tablada airport, and from Tablada to Madrid's Barajas airport.I left Tetouan on the Spanish passport of Sheila Siroca, but someone was responsible for manipulating the passenger manifest so that the name would not appear on it.During the flight, I shredded the old passport with the scissors in my carry-on emergency sewing kit and wrapped it in a handkerchief.Anyway, this is a passport from the time of the Republic, and it is completely useless in New Spain today.When I landed in Madrid, I was presented with a brand new Moroccan passport.Below the photo is my address in Tangier and my new name: Iris Agrek.Is the name weird?It's not surprising, it's just that the letters of my original name are reversed and the last letter h of my name is also learned from Felix.When I first opened the shop in Tetouan, he helped me add this letter to the name of the shop to reflect the Moroccan style.It's not an authentic Arabic name, but it sounds weird and wouldn't cause suspicion in Madrid, because no one knows how people get their names in Arab countries, as Paso Doble sang, where on the land of Africa.
A few days before my departure, I followed verbatim the clues in the letter Rosalinda left, contacting the person she designated to obtain a new identification; And send the bill together to a local address, although I never knew whose address it was.I went to Tim's Bar again and ordered a Bloody Mary.If I finally decide to say no, I should just order a cheap lemonade.The bartender in the store delivered the drinks with a deadpan face, as if in a bad mood, and chatted about some seemingly meaningless topics: last night's heavy rain broke an awning; At ten o'clock there will be an American ship called the Jason with British cargo on board.But from these insignificant words I got the information I needed.At the appointed time that Friday, I arrived at the American embassy in Tangier.It was a small palace in a very Moroccan style in a Moorish neighbourhood.I told the soldier guarding the gate that I wanted to see Mr. Jason.He picked up a heavy internal phone and announced his arrival in English.With instructions he hung up and ushered me into an Arabian courtyard surrounded by lime arches.An official picked me up, and without a word, walked swiftly and led me through a maze of passages, stairs, and corridors to a white platform at the highest point of the building.
"That's Mr. Jason." He pointed to a man at the end of the platform, and then trotted downstairs.
The man had unusually thick eyebrows.His real name was not Jason, but Hirgarth.Alan Hilgas, Naval Counselor at the British Embassy in Madrid and general coordinator of British intelligence operations in Spain.Square face, broad forehead, dark hair pomaded neatly brushed back, with a straight slit in the middle.He was wearing a gray alpaca suit, and I could distinguish the fine texture from a distance. He walked towards me with steady steps, holding a black leather briefcase in his left hand. He first introduced himself briefly, Shake my hand and invite me to admire the panorama of Tangier.It is indeed impressive: the port, the bay, the whole channel, and the farthest line of land.
"Spain," he said, pointing to the horizon, "so close, yet so far away. Shall we sit down and talk?" He pointed to a long iron scroll, and we sat down.He pulled a metal cigarette case from his coat pocket and handed me a Black Cat cigarette.I accepted.We smoked while looking at the sea.There was hardly any sound around, save for the occasional distant cry from the nearby street, and the occasional screech of seagulls from the beach.
"Madrid is ready and waiting for you to go." He spoke first.
He speaks Spanish very well.But I didn't answer because I had nothing to say but to follow his instructions.
"We rent a house on Nuñez de Balboa Avenue, do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, I used to work around there for a while."
"Mrs. Fox is doing the renovations and other preparations. But of course through other people."
"I see."
"I know she has told you the details, but I think it is necessary to repeat to you. Colonel Bergbeer and Mrs. Fox are in a very delicate situation, and everyone is waiting for the Colonel's departure. That day, nothing can be done, and it looks like it is not far away, is a great loss to the British government. At present, the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Serrano Sunier, is leaving for Berlin. He will first talk to Germany A meeting with the Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, and then Hitler. The fact that the Spanish Foreign Minister was not on the trip, but in Madrid, showed that his position was at stake. Meanwhile, Mr. Colonel and Fox The wives are cooperating with us and have provided many useful contacts. But of course, everything is being done in secret. Both of them are closely watched by agents of the hostile power. Hostile power is a euphemism for that."
"The Gestapo and the Falange." Rosalinda's words came to mind.
"It seems that you are well aware of the situation. It is these people. We don't want this to happen to you, although there is no way to guarantee that it will be absolutely avoided. But you don't need to worry too much. Today in Madrid, basically people Everyone is spying on everyone, everyone is being watched by someone else, everyone is suspected, no one trusts anyone. But luckily, they don't seem to have much patience, as if everyone is eager to find out, and if a few days If you can't find anything suspicious in one person, you will immediately give up and move on to the next. If you feel that you are being watched, please let us know immediately, and we will take care of who it is. Most importantly, Never panic. Just act as usual, don't startle the enemy, and don't mess yourself up. Got it?"
"I think I get it." My voice sounded uncertain.
"Mrs. Fox," he changed the subject, "is piercing her network ahead of your arrival, and I think she's already connected you with a bunch of potential clients. Fall is just around the corner, and we thought you'd better hurry Settling down in Madrid. When do you think you'll be able to go there?"
"At your command."
"Thank you very much for your cooperation. We have already booked you a ticket for next Tuesday at our discretion. Do you think it is okay?"
I furtively put my hands on my knees, fearing that I might tremble.
"I'll be ready."
"Excellent. I think Mrs. Fox has given you a brief account of the mission."
"yes."
"Okay, now let me tell you more about the job. At first we just need you to provide information on a few German ladies and a few Spanish ladies on a regular basis, and we have reason to believe that they will soon become your customers. Like As your friend Mrs. Fox told you, the lack of fabrics is the biggest headache facing the high fashion houses in Madrid. We have met some women living in Madrid who are very eager to find a dresser, both creative, There is cloth again. So you can manually join the game from here. If we are right, your cooperation will help us a lot, because we have almost no contact with the German dignitaries in Madrid, and the Spanish authorities. No contacts at all. Except, of course, Colonel Bergber, but I am afraid he will not stay in this position for long. The information we hope to obtain through you will mainly focus on the movements of the Nazis living in Madrid, and the Spanish in connection with them. The situation of people. We don’t have the ability to track them one by one, so we can only get some information through their wives or lovers, such as interpersonal interactions, social relations and various activities. So far, is everything clear?”
"clear."
“We mainly want to know in advance the social schedule of the Germans in Madrid: what events they organize, which Spaniards or Germans they associate with, where they meet, how often they meet. A lot of their transactions are through these private socials. The event is done, not what we would call an office procedure. So we want to be infiltrated by someone we can trust 100 percent. In these occasions, Nazis usually bring their wives or lovers with them, and these ladies have to have the right Clothing. So we would like you to have some information ahead of time, like where customers will be showing off your creations. Do you think that is possible?"
"It should be fine, because the average customer talks about it. The problem is that I basically don't understand German."
"We've thought about it. We'll give you a little help in this. Colonel Bergberg, you know, was a military attache in Berlin for several years. There was a Spanish couple working as cooks at his embassy, They have two daughters. Mr. Colonel seemed to be very kind to them, helped them solve some problems, and took care of their children's education. In short, he was very close to them until he was transferred to Morocco. Not long ago, he was already in The family, who had returned to Spain a few years ago, contacted him again and sought new help. The child's mother had died before the Civil War, and the father had chronic asthma and rarely went out. They had no political affiliation, which we It is very beneficial for you. The father asked Bergbel to find a job for his two daughters. So, if you agree, we will ask these two girls to help in the fashion shop. They are sixteen years old and nineteen years old. German is perfectly fine. I don't know them, but Mrs. Fox interviewed a few days ago and was very satisfied. She wants me to tell you that you won't miss Hamila with their help. I don't know Hamila Who is Ra, but I hope you understand my message."
I smiled for the first time since the conversation started.
"I see. If Mrs. Fox thinks they're all right, I'll be satisfied too. Can they sew?"
"I don't think so. But they can help you run the shop, and you can teach them the basics of sewing. Anyway, it's very important that you understand that you must never let these two girls know about you." What are you doing, so on the one hand, you must try to get them to help you translate what you don’t understand, and on the other hand, you can’t let them guess your real purpose. Have another cigarette?”
He took out the black cat cigarette case again, and I accepted.
"I will find a way, don't worry." I slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and said.
"Okay, let's move on. As I mentioned, our basic requirement is to keep track of the social life of those Nazis in Madrid, but we also want to know their movements and contacts in Germany. For example, if he returns home, why? I want to go back; if I receive guests, who are the guests, how do I plan to receive them... In short, any relevant information that may interest us."
"And what should I do if I have this information?"
"We have considered for a long time how to pass the information to us after you have obtained it, and I think we have found a relatively easy way to get started. Although it may not be the final contact method, it is at least worth a try. SOE uses several Ciphers of varying degrees of security, but sooner or later they would be broken by the Germans. Ciphers based on literature, especially poetry, are now commonly used. Yeats, Milton, Byron, Tennyson, etc. But we will try a A new form, a method that is simpler and more in keeping with your identity and your circumstances. Do you know the Morse code?"
"The telegraph kind?"
"That's right. It's a code that uses intermittent signals to represent letters and numbers, usually an auditory code. However, these auditory codes can also be represented by very simple visual images, through a very simple A system of dots and dashes. You see."
He took a medium-sized envelope from his briefcase and pulled out a piece of cardboard.It has the alphabet and the numbers one to nine, arranged in two columns.Each letter or number is written with a corresponding dotted symbol.
"You can try it. We are now going to convert a word into a code symbol, any word, such as 'Tangier'. Please express it aloud."
I looked up the code table and said "Tangier" in code.
"Cross. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot."
"Excellent. Now let's convert it into a visual image, no, it's better to draw it on paper to be more intuitive. Hold, use this." He took out a silver pen from his inner pocket , "Just write it on this envelope."
I wrote down these words according to the password table:
"Very good. Now look at these graphics, what do you think of? Does it look familiar to you?"
I looked at the dots carefully and smiled.Of course, of course I feel familiar.I've made things all my life, so how can it not be familiar?
"Like stitches," I whispered.
"That's right," he confirmed, "that's exactly what I was trying to say. You see, we want all the information you send us to be converted through this system. Obviously you need to train your generalization skills so that you can use The minimum number of words to express the message you want to convey. Otherwise, each sentence will consume a lot of energy. And I hope you will give them some disguise, make a boilerplate, a sketch, or something like that, anyway, it is similar to an ordinary It doesn’t have to be true, it just needs to look like it. Got it?”
"I think I get it."
"Okay, let's try it out then."
He took out a folder full of white papers from his briefcase, pulled out a page, closed the folder, and put the paper on top of the folder.
"Let's say our message now is 'There will be a dinner at the Baroness Pedrino's house on February 5th at eight o'clock in the evening, and the Countess Ciano and her husband will be there.' Later I will introduce you to these people who are Who, take it easy. The first thing we have to do is get rid of any redundant words in the sentence, like articles, prepositions, etc. This way, we can shorten this message considerably. You see 'February 5th at 8pm Pedri Nuo's dinner, attended by Siano and her husband', from thirty-nine characters to twenty-one characters, saving more than half. Now, after filtering the redundant words, the next step is to reverse the word order. In contrast to the left-to-right writing order commonly used today, we will write the code from right to left, each time starting from the lower right corner of the work surface and going upwards. You can imagine a person pointing at four twenty on the clock, and imagine the minute hand starting to turn backwards, get it?"
"Understood, please let me try."
He handed me the folder, and I put it on my lap, then took his silver pen and drew on it what seemed to be a completely irregular shape that took up most of the paper.One side is round and the ends are straight.Completely incomprehensible to laymen.
"what is this?"
"Wait a minute." I said without looking up.
After drawing the figure, I moved the pen to the inside of the lower right corner of the figure, and along the periphery of the figure, converted the letters into Morse symbols, replacing dots with some short lines.Long horizontal, short horizontal, long horizontal, two short horizontal... When I finished drawing, the inside of the whole figure seemed to be embroidered with a circle of innocent and pure stitches.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Not yet." I took out a pair of scissors from the small sewing box I carried with me, and cut along the edge of the figure, leaving only a margin of about one centimeter on the outside.
"Didn't you say that you want to pretend to be something related to a fashion designer?" I said and handed him the piece of paper, "This is, a model of a lantern sleeve with all the information sewn on it."
An imperceptible smile slowly emerged from his tightly pursed lips.
"Great," he whispered.
"I can prepare a few samples every time I deliver a message to you. Sleeves, front, neckline, waist, cuffs, sides, which one to use will depend on the length of the sentence. I can do as much information as I need to convey. How many shapes can there be?"
"Great, great," he repeated in a single tone, still holding the cutout in his hand.
"Now you must tell me how I can get them into your hands."
He was still looking at my work, with a slightly surprised expression, and finally put it in his briefcase.
"Okay, let's move on. If there are no emergencies, you send us two messages per week. Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. These two transfers should be in different places, and both must be public places. Note, Try to avoid contact between you and the person picking up your order under all circumstances."
"Didn't you pick it up?"
"No, I won't show up unless I have to. Especially in the place designated for the handover on Wednesday, it is very difficult for me to have the opportunity to go in, because we chose the Rosa Zavala Beauty Salon, which is next to the Palace Hotel. Currently it is The best establishment of its kind in Madrid, at least among foreigners and among the most dignified ladies in Spain. You must become a regular visitor there and visit regularly. In fact, we strongly recommend that you establish a normality in your life The process makes your every move completely predictable and looks very natural. There is a space on the right hand side as soon as you enter the beauty salon, which is used to store guests' bags, hats and coats. An entire wall is covered with small Small separate closet where the ladies can store their things. You always use the last closet, which is the innermost one against the wall. There is usually a young girl at the entrance, not a particularly clever one, and her Her job is to help customers store things, but many customers would rather refuse her help and store their own. So if you refuse her help, there is nothing unusual. Give a good tip and she will be very happy. When When you open the door to put something in, the door almost completely covers your body, so people can only guess what you are doing, and no one can really see what you are doing in it. At this time you Just take what is passed to us, roll it up and put it in the top compartment of the cabinet, be quick. Just make sure you push it all the way in, it’s never going to be visible from the outside.”
"Who will come to fetch it?"
"We trust people, you don't have to worry. Someone will come that afternoon, probably right behind you, and she will go there to get her hair done like you, and she will use the same cabinet as you."
"What if that cupboard is taken?"
"Normally not, because it's the last one. But if this happens, you use the second-to-last one. If this one is also taken, then use the previous one, and so on. Is it clear? Excuse me Repeat the whole process."
"Go to the beauty salon as soon as possible on Wednesday afternoon, use the last cabinet, open the cabinet door, and take out a roll of samples that need to be handed over to you from your bag or other places while you are putting things away."
"Tie them with ribbons or rubber bands. Sorry to interrupt, you go ahead."
"Put the roll on the top shelf of the closet and push it all the way in. Then close the door and do your hair."
"Very good. Now let's talk about the handover on Saturday. The location is at the Prado Museum. We have an informant who has infiltrated the staff in the museum's cloakroom. For this handover, you'd better bring a piece of Picture folder, you know what I'm talking about?" I thought of the picture folder Felix used when he went to art class at Bertucci's school.
"Yes, no problem, I can find one."
"Excellent. You have a picture case with you and put some basic drawing supplies in it: notebooks, pencils, etc., normal things anyway, things you can find anywhere. You have to give me what you want with They are put together in a quarto-sized open envelope. For easy identification, you can pin a piece of brightly colored cloth on it. Go to the museum every Saturday morning around ten o'clock. This is a man who lives in Madrid. It is a very common activity among foreigners. Bring your painting folder and the contents inside. In order to prevent someone from watching, you can put some things that match your identity, such as unfinished paintings, sketches of clothes, etc. Anyway, it has to do with your daily work.”
"Okay. What do I do when I get there?"
“You give the portfolio to the cloakroom. But every time you have to hand it in with something else, whether it’s a coat, a gabardine coat, or something else you just bought, otherwise the portfolio alone is too obvious. Then you can go to the various exhibitions. Walk around the museum and enjoy the paintings in a leisurely way. About half an hour later, you go back to the cloakroom, ask them to return the portfolio, and then take the portfolio to a certain exhibition hall, sit down and draw for at least half an hour. You can look closely at the clothes in the painting and pretend to be looking for inspiration for future designs. In short, choose the best behavior according to the time and situation. But first you must make sure that the envelope has been taken. If not, you have to do the same on Sunday When the time comes, repeat the same operation, although I don’t think this will happen. The contact with the beauty salon has just started recently, but the Prado Museum has been used by us before, and we have never missed it.”
"And here I will not know who took the samples?"
"Definitely someone you can trust 100 per cent. Our contact in the museum cloakroom is only responsible for transferring this envelope from your portfolio to the laundry that another of our contacts deposited there that same morning, which is an easy thing to do Arrival. Are you hungry?"
I checked the time, it was past one noon.I didn't know if I was hungry or not, I was so engrossed, trying to digest his instructions word for word, I barely felt the passage of time.I looked at the sea, which seemed to change color a little, but everything else remained the same: the sunlight on the white walls, the seagulls in flight, the sounds of conversation in Arabic from the street.Hilgas didn't wait for my answer.
"You must be hungry, please come with me."
We ate in one of the rooms at the embassy, and there were many corridors and steps to get here from the roof deck.On the way, he explained to me that this building was rebuilt and expanded many times from an old main building, so the style is so inconsistent.The room we were in was not really a dining room, but a small living room with little furniture, and on the walls were many pictures of ancient battles in gold frames.Although the weather outside is fine, the windows are closed, and outside the window is a small yard.In the center of the room there was already a table with veal for us.A waiter with a military hairdo brought us beef medium rare, baked potatoes and salad.On a nearby table are two plates of cut-up fruit and a pot of coffee.After filling the wine and water glasses, the waiter quietly left and closed the door.So our conversation returned to the topic.
"When you arrive in Madrid, you will spend a week at the Palace Hotel. We have reserved a room under your name, of course, in your new name. When you get there, you'd better come and go from time to time, and be seen as much as possible. To you. Go shopping, go to the new house to get familiar with the environment. Take a walk, watch a movie, you can do whatever you want. But there are two taboos."
"Which two?"
"First, don't go out of the most exclusive areas of Madrid. Don't leave the affluent areas there, and don't come into contact with anyone who doesn't belong to this class."
"You mean to tell me not to go back to my old neighbourhood, or to see old friends or acquaintances, are you?"
"That's right. No one can connect you with your past. You are a foreigner who has just arrived in Madrid and knows no one and no one knows you. If by chance someone recognizes you, you have to try to deny it. You can be arrogant and playful if you have to, but never let it be known that you are not the real Iris."
"I'll take care of it, don't worry. What about the other one?"
"Absolutely avoid contact with any British citizens."
"You mean I can't see Rosalinda Fox?" I couldn't hide my displeasure.Although I knew that our relationship should not be made public, I always thought that I could rely on her in private, and I could ask her for help when I encountered difficulties, and use her experience and intuition to help me.
Hilgars took a bite of the baked potato, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and brought the water glass to his mouth. "I'm afraid so, I'm sorry. Can't see her, or any other Brit, except me. Meet me." It is also under unavoidable circumstances. Mrs. Fox knows this very well. If you meet by chance, she knows not to come near you. In addition, you need to avoid any contact with American citizens as much as possible, because Americans are our friends, you We will soon see how close the relationship between our two countries is." He said and made a gesture of opening and closing his hands. It's a pity that they are not friends with Spain and the Axis Powers, so you should try to agree with them. They keep their distance "Okay." I agree.It made me unhappy not to see Rosalinda as often, but I knew there was no alternative but to obey.
"Speaking of public places, I would like to recommend some places that are more suitable for you to frequent."
"Speaking."
"Your hotel, the Palace Hotel, is full of Germans, so even if you don't live there in the future, you can always find an excuse to go there. You can go for a barbecue, which is very popular in Madrid these days. You can go for a drink or Meet a customer. In New Spain, if a woman goes out alone, smokes a cigarette, or wears something that attracts attention, it will be viewed. But you have to remember that you are not Hispanic now, you just came from Foreigners from neighboring countries, so your speech and behavior have to be done in a different way. You also have to go to the Ritz Hotel frequently, which is another gathering place for the Nazis. Another important place is the Embassy, Do you know the teahouse on Via Castillana?"
"Of course." I said.But I didn't tell him that I used to press my face against its glass window several times when I was young, salivating at the delicious desserts displayed inside.Cream cake decorated with strawberries, Russian pastries made of chocolate cream, and butter cake.I never dreamed that one day I would step over its threshold.Life can be really ironic sometimes, but for a few years, I was actually asked to be there as often as possible.
"The owner of the teahouse is Margaret Taylor, an Irishman and a loyal friend of ours. Probably for now, the Embassy is the most interesting place in Madrid, because in less than sixty square meters, the Axis People from the Allied Powers and the Allies got together on the surface without any quarrel. Of course, everyone was with his own little group. But it was not uncommon for the German ambassador, Baron van Stuhele, to meet with the British diplomats. Officials drinking lemon tea face to face, or myself sitting at the bar shoulder to shoulder with the military attache of the German embassy. The corner of Eschinza Avenue. In addition, in addition to receiving foreigners, the Embassy is also a gathering place for many Spanish nobles. During the aperitif time, it is difficult to find a place where so many nobles can gather in the whole of Spain. Most of them are hiding from the emperor. , is also Anglophile. In other words, basically on our side. So in terms of getting information, these people are not of much value to us. But it would be nice if you could find a few clients there, Because these aristocratic women are the envy and imitation objects of German women. The wives of high-ranking officials in the new Spanish regime generally do not belong to this category. They have little contact with the outside world and are very closed. Less entertainment, and of course, no champagne cocktails at the Embassy before dinner. Do you know what I mean?"
"Basically got it."
"If you're unlucky, if you encounter any serious problems, or if you think there is information that needs to be transmitted urgently, you can find me at the Embassy at one o'clock in the noon any day. It can be said that there are me and several intelligence agents. A secret meeting place, as it is a completely public place, less likely to arouse suspicion. We will use a very simple code, if you need to meet me, walk in with your bag in your left hand; if all is well, you are just coming Have an aperitif and show your face in public, then hold the bag in your right hand. Remember: on the left, there is a problem; Like pure inadvertence or accident."
"What do you mean by very critical?" I asked.Although I can't fully understand this sentence, my intuition tells me that there must be a very bad message hidden in it.
"Direct threats. Hostage or coercion. Physical assault. Residential harassment."
"If this happens, what will you do?" I finally swallowed the food in my throat.
"It depends. We will analyze the situation and act according to the risk level. If the situation is very dangerous, we will suspend the operation, take you to a safe place for protection, and then arrange your evacuation as soon as possible. If the situation is normal, we will We will study several ways to protect you. No matter what, please be assured that we will always be with you and will never let you fight alone."
"thanks."
"You don't have to thank us, this is our job." He focused on cutting the last bits of meat off the plate. "We're confident that everything will be fine, as we've designed it to be very safe, and the information you've communicated to us is not high-risk, at least for now. Would you like dessert?"
This time, he still didn't wait for my answer, so he stood up directly, took the plate from our table to the next table, and brought back two plates of cut fruits.I observed his movements, swift and precise. One could see that he regards efficiency as his life. He never wants to waste a second or be distracted by trivial matters or vague words.He sat down again, picked up a piece of pineapple, and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted at all.
"If we want to find you, we usually go through two channels. One is the Burgigno flower shop on Almacro Avenue. The owner of this flower shop is a Dutchman who is also our friend. We will give you Send flowers, white or yellow, anyway, they must be light-colored. We will reserve red flowers for your suitors to send."
"You guys are so thoughtful," I sarcastically said.
"Check the bouquet carefully," he ignored my ridicule, "there will be our information inside. If it is a general information, we will write it on a card. You read it a few times to appreciate the seemingly insignificant words The double meaning implied in. If it is more complicated, we will use the same password as you, that is, write the Morse code in reverse order on the ribbon tied with the bouquet, you just need to untie the ribbon and follow the password you wrote方式来破译就可以，从右到左。”
“好的。第二个渠道呢？”
“还是Embassy，但不是在它的大厅，而是通过它家的糖果。如果您意外地收到一盒巧克力，就知道那是我们送来的。我们会负责让它从店里送出的时候就携带有相应的信息，您也可以用同样的方法破译。仔细观察盒子和包装纸。”
“真的非常殷勤。”我带着一丝嘲讽说道。他仍然没有理会，或者注意到了，但是没有表现出来。
“就是这样。用尽一切令人难以置信的方法来传递信息。来杯咖啡吗？”
我的水果还没有吃完，不过我接受了。他拧开一个金属容器的上部，倒了两杯咖啡。神奇的是，从里面倒出来的液体是热的。我完全不能理解这是什么东西，可以倒出液体，而且就像刚刚煮出来的一样，这壶咖啡放在这儿至少有一个小时了。
“保温壶，这是个了不起的发明。”他似乎意识到了我的好奇，然后从公文包里拿出几个薄薄的浅色卡纸文件夹，在面前堆成一堆。“下面我会逐个向您介绍我们最感兴趣的人物。随着时间的推移，我们对于这些女士的兴趣有可能会增加，也有可能会减少，甚至完全消失，虽然我个人认为不太可能。我们也可能随时加进新的名字，或者要求您特别加强对其中某一个的追踪，刻意留心某些具体的信息。总之，我们会根据事情的进展随时通知您。暂时来讲，这几个人的活动日程是我们目前最希望了解的。”
他打开第一个文件夹，从里面拿出几页打满了字的纸，左上角用订书机钉着一张照片。
“佩德利诺男爵夫人，原籍罗马尼亚。结婚前的名字叫伊莲娜·波尔科沃斯卡。她的丈夫叫汉斯·拉萨尔，是德国大使馆的新闻宣传官员。她丈夫是首要的信息目标，因为他影响力很大，权势无限。他跟西班牙政权高官关系相当好，尤其是那些最有权力的长枪党人。此外他还有着在公共关系中游刃有余的天赋，经常在位于卡斯蒂利亚那大街的别墅中组织奢华的派对，用直接从德国带来的源源不断的美酒佳肴收买了十多个记者和企业家。就目前西班牙的悲惨境地来说，他的生活可谓醉生梦死，不但骄奢淫逸，而且热衷于收藏古董，常常强行低价购买定价极高的藏品。很有讽刺意义的是，他似乎是个犹太人，出生于土耳其，不过他一直试图掩盖这个事实。他的妻子也完全融入了他马不停蹄的社交生活，每次公开露面都跟他一样奢华，所以我们毫不怀疑她会成为您的第一批顾客。我们希望以后她将是您最重要的顾客之一，无论是在定制服装方面还是在提供信息方面。”
我都没有来得及看看照片，他就合上文件夹把它推向我这一侧的桌面。我正想打开看看，他把我拦住了。
“以后再看吧，您今天可以把所有的文件夹都带走，因为您得把所有的资料都记在脑子里，一旦认为已经完全掌握了，请马上销毁，全部。这些绝对不可以带到马德里去，除了您，也不能有第二个人了解其中的内容，清楚了吗？”
我还没来得及点头表示同意，他就打开了第二个文件夹继续说：
“格罗利亚·凡·弗斯登伯格。虽然她的名字看起来像德国人，但事实上她是个墨西哥人，所以在她面前说话一定要当心，因为她什么都能听懂。这位女士非常漂亮优雅，是一个德国贵族的遗孀。她有两个儿子，都比较小，目前的经济状况十分糟糕，所以她一直在捕猎一个有钱的新丈夫，或者退而求其次，任何一个富有的花花公子，能给她足够的金钱继续挥霍。因此她总是跟各种权贵有联系，同时拥有好几个情人，其中就有埃及大使和百万富翁胡安·马切。她的社会活动非常频繁，而且都是跟纳粹团伙一起。毫无疑问她也会给您带来不少生意，虽然有时候可能会拖欠账单。”
他义合上材料，递给我。我没有再打开，直接把它放在第一个文件夹上面。他打开了第三个。
“艾尔萨·布鲁克曼，也就是希腊的坎塔库塞诺公主，百万富婆，希特勒的情妇，虽然年纪比他大得多。据说就是她把希特勒带进柏林社交圈的，还曾向纳粹事业捐赠了一笔巨额款项。最近她一直居住在马德里，在大使宅邸，不知道为什么。但是看上去她似乎住得还挺愉快，社会活动一场不落。她为人有些古怪，而且是出了名的大嘴巴，说起相关的事来有可能就像本打开的书一样毫无保留。再来一杯咖啡吗？”
“好的，不过让我来吧，您继续说，我听着呢。”
“好吧，谢谢。最后一位德国人：米切尔德·伯德维尔斯伯爵夫人，个子很高，很漂亮，大约三十来岁，独居，跟阿尔诺德关系非常密切。阿尔诺德是马德里最活跃的间谍之—，在SIS中职位很高，他姓沃夫，她提到他的时候经常会用他的昵称'小狼'。这位女士跟德国人和西班牙人关系都很好，这里的西班牙人指的是一些贵族和政府官员，其中包括米盖尔·普利莫·德里维拉和萨恩斯·德艾瑞迪亚，也就是长枪党的创始人何塞·安东尼奥的弟弟。毫无疑问她是纳粹的耳目，虽然也许她自己也蒙在鼓里。据她说自己完全不懂政治也不懂情报，但是德国人每个月给她一千五百比塞塔，就为了听她汇报所见所闻，这在今天的西班牙算得上是一大笔钱了。”
“这毫无疑问。”
“现在我们来看看西班牙人。皮艾达尔·伊图尔贝·凡·斯格尔玆，在朋友中间一般被称为皮艾迪塔。她是贝尔维斯·德拉斯纳瓦斯女侯爵，她的丈夫是马克斯·德霍恩洛赫·兰根布格，一名奥地利的贵族和富翁，也是欧洲王室的正统成员，不过在西班牙生活了大半辈子。开始的时候他支持纳粹事业，因为那也是他们国家的事业，但是他跟我们还有美国人也一直保持着联系，我们都是他的生意伙伴。夫妇俩去过很多国家，似乎也很不喜欢他们元首的胡作非为。事实上在西班牙，他们是一对非常受欢迎和尊重的夫妇，但是正脚踩两只船。我们监视他们的目的是为了了解他们是不是更偏向德国人一些，明白吗？”他一边问一边合上了文件夹。
"clear."
“最后一个主要目标，松索雷斯·德伊卡萨，也就是昂索尔女侯爵。我们对她感兴趣不是因为她的丈夫，她丈夫是个比她大三十岁的军人和贵族，而是她的情人，拉蒙·塞拉诺·苏聂尔，西班牙内政部长及革命军总参谋长。我们管他叫'轴心部长'。”
“就是佛朗哥的连襟？”我惊讶地问。
“就是他。他们俩一直保持着关系，尤其是女方，大肆炫耀她跟当今西班牙一人之下万人之上的重臣之间的罗曼情事。这是一位既漂亮又高傲的女士，性子很强，你要当心。不过，如果您能通过她获取一些关于塞拉诺·苏聂尔不为人知的行动或者联系人之类的信息，那对我们将具有不可估量的价值。”
我努力掩饰着他这番话给我带来的震惊。我知道塞拉诺是一个很有魅力的男人，从那次帮我捡起掉在他脚下的粉盒就能看出来，但当时他给我的印象是一个非常谨慎而节制的人，真的不敢相信他会是一桩婚外恋的主角，而且对方还是一位门第很高的太太。
“现在我们只剩最后一个文件夹了，里面是关于好几个人的信息。”希尔加斯继续说，“根据我们掌握的材料，这里提到的人，他们的妻子不太可能在您的高级时装店刚开业时就急不可待地赶去做衣服，但是以防万一，您还是要提防着点儿，只需要记住他们的名字就行了。尤其是要好好了解她们的丈夫，因为他们才是我们真正的目标。而且他们也很有可能在其他顾客的谈话中被提及，那时候您就得注意了。现在开始吧，我念得比较快，之后您可以慢慢复习。保罗·温瑟，马德里盖世太保的强势人物，非常危险，甚至连很多德国人都对他又恨又怕。他是德国情报头子希姆莱在西班牙的爪牙，还不到四十岁，但是个精明的老狐狸。目光深邃，戴着圆圆的眼镜。他有几十个密探，分布在整个马德里，所以一定要当心。下一位，沃尔特·胡汉斯，这也是我们的噩梦之一。他是西班牙水果向英国出口的最大破坏者，他扔下的炸弹炸死过好几个工人。下一个，卡尔·恩斯特·凡·默克，这是盖世太保中一位表现突出的成员，在纳粹分子中也有很大的影响力。下一位，约翰内斯·弗朗玆·本哈尔德，企业家……”
“我认识他。”
"what?"
“他还在得土安的时候我认识他。”
“您认识他。熟吗？”他缓缓地问。
“不熟，完全不熟。从来没有跟他说过话，但是贝格贝尔在当总督的时候，我们都参加过几次他组织的活动。”
“他认识您吗？在公共场合能认出您来吗？”
“应该不认识。我们从来没有交谈过，而且我觉得他不会记得那几次见面。”
“您怎么知道的？”
“就是知道。我们女人可以清楚地分辨出一个男人是饶有兴致地看你，还是把你当成家具一样无动于衷。”
他沉默了一会儿，好像在反思刚刚听到的话。
“我想，这是一种女性直觉吧。”最后他带着一丝怀疑说。
“您不用怀疑。”
“那他的妻子呢？”
“我给她做过一件外套。您说得没错，、她从来就不属于那些非常在意时尚的人。有的人完全不能接受在新一季的活动中穿上一季的服装，但她不是那样的人，她毫不在意。”
“如果你们在什么地方遇到了，您觉得她能想起您吗？会认出您吗？”
“我不知道。我觉得不能，但是不敢保证。不过不管怎么说，就算她认出我，应该也没什么问题。我在得土安的生活跟从现在开始要做的事情也没什么不一样的。”
“不能那么想。在这儿您是福克斯太太的朋友，当然也就是贝格贝尔上校的朋友。而在马德里不能有任何人知道这一点。”
“但是在那些公共活动中，我从来没有跟他们在一起过，而我们的私人会面，本哈尔德和他的妻子没有理由知道。您不用担心，我认为不会有问题的。”
“希望如此。不管怎么说，本哈尔德跟情报也不太沾边，他只关心生意上的事。他被纳粹政府派到一些在西班牙开展业务、关系错综复杂的公司里去的，涉及运输业、银行业、保险业……”
“跟HISMA公司有关系吗？”
“HISMA，西班牙摩洛哥运输公司，这个公司的规模已经大大缩减了，因为主要业务都转移到伊比利亚半岛去了。现在他们通过另一个规模更大、实力更强的公司来运作，SO FINDUS。不过麻烦您告诉我，您怎么会知道HISMA。”
“内战期间我在得土安听人说起过。”我含糊地回答。现在没有必要详细解释本哈尔德跟塞拉诺·苏聂尔之间的交易，那已经是很久以前的事了。
本哈尔德他接着说，“收买了一群告密者，但是他搜寻的一般都是有商业价值的信息。我相信你们永远不会碰见。事实上，他们也不住在马德里，在莱文特海岸，据说是塞拉诺为了感谢他的帮助，花钱替他们购置的房子。我们也不知道这个消息可靠与否。好了，关于这个人，还有最后一件非常重要的事情。”
“您尽管说。”
“沃夫拉米欧。”
"what?"
“沃夫拉米欧，”他重复道，“这是一种矿产的名字，这种矿产对于战争来说至关重要，因为它包含用于制造炮弹的成分。我们相信本哈尔德正在进行一些谈判和交易，为了让西班牙政府让出加利西亚和埃斯特拉马杜拉两座矿山，并把它们分解成多个小矿，这样他们就可以直接向矿主购买产品。我觉得在您的服装店里不太可能会谈起这些，但是万一您听到什么与此相关的消息请立即通知我们。记住：沃夫拉米欧，有时候也被称作'钨'。这里有备注，在本哈尔德的部分。”他一边说一边用手指了指文件。
"I'll pay attention."
我们又点上了一根烟。
“好了，现在该谈一谈那些需要尽量避免的事。您累吗？”
“一点儿也不累，您继续说吧。”
“在顾客方面，有一群人是您要尽量避免招揽的，就是纳粹集团里的一些女官员。她们很好认，抢眼而骄傲，一般都化着浓妆，洒着浓重的香水，穿得也很招摇。事实上她们没有什么社会背景，职位也相当低，但是她们的薪水在现今的西班牙算得上是天文数字了，所以大多极尽奢华挥金如土。有权有势的纳粹太太们都瞧不起她们，而她们虽然表面上傲慢自负，在那些太太们面前却连大气都不敢出。所以如果她们出现在您的店里，您可以想都不想就把她们打发走。她们不但对您没有任何好处，而且会把那些我们真正想招揽的顾客吓跑。”
“我会照您说的去做，请放心。”
“至于公共场所，我们不建议您出现在像奇科特、瑞斯卡尔、卡萨布兰卡或帕萨波加之类的地方化场所，那里到处都是暴发户、黑市贩子、政府新贵和演艺界人士。就您目前的处境来说不太适宜交往。尽可能将活动范围局限于之前我提到的那些酒店、美容会所、Embassy，还有其他比较可靠的地方，比如依埃罗城门俱乐部或者赌场。当然，如果能有某位顾客邀请您参加有德国人参与的私人聚会，您应该毫不犹豫地接受。”
“好的。”我说。但我心里觉得不可能有人邀请我去他刚才说的那些地方。
他看了看表，我也看了看表。光线已经很暗了，黄昏来临前的暮色将我们包围。周围寂静无声，只有一股浓重的缺少通风的味道。已经是晚上七点多了，我们从早上十点开始一直谈到现在。希尔加斯像一个滔滔不绝的自来水管一样，不停地传输着信息，我则张开全身的毛孔努力吸收他的每一句话，试图让身体的每一寸皮肤都充分理解。咖啡早就喝完了，烟灰缸里的烟头也快满了。
“好了，我们马上就要结束了。”他宣布，“最后我还有一些建议。第一个建议来自福克斯太太的一条口信。她要我转告您，不管是在外表上还是在制衣风格上，都要力求大胆泼辣，要不就是极简主义的优雅。不管怎么样，她鼓励您不要墨守陈规，尤其是不要走中庸路线，否则的话，您的服装店里可能会塞满西班牙政府官员的太太们，来找您做点正经衣服，好穿着它们休息日跟丈夫和孩子们一起去做弥撒。”
I laughed.罗萨琳达，哪怕人不在，传达的口信都那么与众不同，富有创意。
“只要是她的忠告，我一定会不假思索盲目遵从的。”我说。
“好，下面是我们的一些建议。首先，坚持每天看报，第一时间了解国内外政治形势。不过得注意，报纸上能出现的消息都是对德国人有利的。第二，无论遇到什么情况都要保持镇定。全心地投入您的角色，让自己相信您就是所扮演的那个人。您尽可以放心大胆地行动，我们虽然不能给您外交豁免，但是在任何情况下都会尽一切努力保护您。第三点也是最后一点，您在私生活方面必须非常谨慎。一个单身女人，年轻漂亮，又是外国人，对很多花花公子和投机分子来说都非常具有吸引力。您也许无法想象，在一些疏忽大意的情报员感情冲动的时候，有多少机密消息会被不负责任地泄露出去。您必须得时刻保持警惕，不要向任何人透露任何信息，尤其是今天在这里听到的这些，绝对不行。”
“我不会的，我可以保证。”
“好极了，我们相信您，也希望您能圆满完成任务。”
于是他开始收拾那些纸片，整理公文包。终于到了这个我害怕了一整天的时刻了，他准备走了，而我得努力控制自己才能忍住不开口求他陪在我身边，求他继续说下去，再给我更多指点，不要这么快就让我独自飞翔。但是他根本就没有看我，所以可能完全没有注意到我的反应。他一直不急不缓地保持着一贯的节奏，就像之前给我上课的时候那样，迅速、直接、有条不紊。每个问题都谈到最深处而且绝不浪费一句口舌。他收着最后几样东西，给了我最后一个忠告。
“请记住我说过的关于这些卷宗的处理方式：仔细研读，然后立刻销毁。现在有人会陪您从一个边门出去，那里有辆车在等您，司机会直接把您送回家。这是您的机票，还有用于前期开支的钱。”
他交给我两个信封。第一个信封很薄，里面装着能让我飞到马德里去的票据。第二个信封很厚，里面装着一大捆钞票。他熟练地扣上公文包的扣子，继续说道：
“这笔钱用于支付您前期的开支。皇宫酒店的房间和新服装店的租金都由我们来支付，已经办妥了，那两个给您帮忙的女孩子也由我们来开工资。店里的收入都归您所有。但是，如果您需要更多的资金，请立即通知我们，在这些行动上我们有特别授权，资金完全没有问题。”我也已经收拾好了。所有的文件夹都抱在胸前，紧紧地搂在臂弯里，好像是几年前失去的那个孩子，而不是马蜂窝一样的一堆坏蛋的资料。我努力保持正常的心跳速度，不让它提到嗓子眼儿，逼得我喘不过气来。最后我们终于站了起来，桌子上只留下了那些长谈的遗迹，看起来很无辜：两个空杯子、一个装得满满的烟灰缸，两把拉开的椅子。好像不过是两个老朋友进行了一场愉快的聊天，抽着香烟，神情轻松，各自聊着自己的生活近况。但是希尔加斯不是我的朋友，我们对对方的过去或者现在没有任何兴趣。我们两个人，只是在共同担心未来。
“最后一个细节。”他突然说。
这时候我们正准备出门，他的手已经放在了门把手上。他缩回手，那双浓密眉毛下的眼睛紧紧地盯着我。虽然已经谈了这么长时间，但是他跟早晨给我的第一印象别无二致：领结整整齐齐，西服外露出的衬衫袖口一尘不染，头发一丝不乱，脸上也依然毫无表情，既不是很紧张，也不是很放松，一看就是在任何情况下都绝对有能力自制的人。他放低了声音，就像是略带沙哑的窃窃私语。
“您不认识我，我也不认识您，我们从来没见过面。根据英国情报局的安排，从现在开始，对我们来说您不再是西班牙公民希拉·西罗嘉，或者是摩洛哥公民艾瑞斯·阿格瑞克。您只是我们SOE代号为西迪的特殊情报员，行动地点在西班牙。虽然在所有这些新近招募的情报员中您是最特别的一个，但毫无疑问，您也是我们的一分子。”
他向我伸出手，坚定、冰凉、自信。是我一生中握过的最坚定、最冰凉、也最自信的手。
“祝您好运，西迪情报员。保持联络。”
Notes:
Notes: