Chapter 19 Chapter Seventeen Saturday Night
Spade tucked the bag lightly under his arm and walked briskly.Only the constant movement of the eyes showed that he was on high alert.He came out of the office building, down an alley, across a narrow courtyard, down Kearney Street to Post Street, and hailed a passing taxi.
The taxi took him to the Pickwick bus terminal on Fifth Street.He deposited the Black Hawk in the luggage room there, and put the receipt in a stamped envelope, on which he wrote: Mr. M. V. Holland, and a San Francisco post office box number, and sealed it. mouth, and dropped the letter into the mailbox.He hailed another taxi at the bus terminal and drove to the Alexandria Hotel.
Spade came to Room C on the twelfth floor and knocked on the door.At the second knock the door was opened for him by a little fair-haired girl in a glittering yellow dressing gown--the little girl was pale and dull.Pulling the inner doorknob with both hands, he gasped and said, "Are you Mr. Spade?"
Spade said "Yes," and seeing her swaying and about to fall, he hastened to hold her back.
She was lying on her back in his arms, her head thrown back, her short blond hair hanging down.The line of the slender neck from chin to breast was rigid.
Spade moved the hand that supported her up her back and bent over; the other hand was under her knee, trying to pick her up.But she twisted and twisted and resisted, her lips moved and she made a vague voice: "No! Mommy wow!"
Spade helped her along.He kicked the door shut, and helped her walk from one end to the other, back and forth, across the green-carpeted room.An arm was wrapped around her petite body, and her hand was under her armpit.The other hand held her other arm tightly.She stumbled, and he pulled her up so she wouldn't lean, then pushed her forward, trying to steady her wobbling legs.They walked up and down, and the girl wobbled, taking uneven steps.Spade was on his knees, unaffected by her shaking.She was pale and her eyes were closed.His face was sullen, his eyes were cold, and he looked around carefully.
Spade said to her in a monotonous voice, "That's right. Left, right, left, right. That's right. One, two, three, four; one, two, three, turn now." They went from When the wall turned back, he shook her. "Go over now. One, two, three, four. Head up. That's right, my boy. Left, right, left, right. Now turn around." He shook her again. "That's a good girl. Go, go, go, go. One, two, three, four. Now turn around." He shook her again, rougher and quicker. "That's it. Left, right, left, right. Hurry up. One, two, three..."
She was shivering and swallowing loudly.Spade began rubbing her arms and half of her body.He brought his mouth close to her ear. "That's all right. You're going great. One, two, three, four. Quick, quick, quick, quick. That's good. Go, go, go, go. Lift up, put down , that's right. Now we turn around, left, right, left, right. What drug did they give you? Is it the kind they gave me?"
Her eyelids lifted, and those dull, golden-brown eyes closed instantly again.She managed to say "yes", and the words that followed were barely audible.
They continued walking up and down the room, and the girl had to trot almost to keep up with Spade.Spade kept patting and pinching her with his hands through the yellow silk dress, and kept talking.His eyes were still harsh, cold, and vigilant. "Left, right; left, right; left, right; turn around. That's a good girl. One, two, three, four; one, two, three, four. Don't lose heart, it's right. One, two... "
Her eyelids opened again, and she could see the eyes looking around feebly.
"That's all right," he said in a crisp voice, not as monotonous as before. "Eyes open, wide-open!" He shook her.
She groaned in protest, but her eyelids lifted, even though they were not yet focused.Spade raised his hand and slapped her several times in quick succession.She groaned again, trying to wrestle him away.He put his arms around her and dragged her by his side, from one end to the other.
He ordered in a harsh voice, "Go on," and then asked, "Who are you?"
Her "Rhea Gutman" was husky, but she could hear it clearly.
"Is it his daughter?"
"Yes." At this moment, she just spoke a bit inaccurately.
"Where's Bridget?"
She twisted and twisted desperately in his arms.Two hands desperately grabbed Spade's one.He quickly pulled out his hand and saw that there was a one-and-a-half inch red scar on the back of his hand.
"What the hell are you doing?" he growled, examining her hands.The left hand is empty.He forced her to open her right hand, which turned out to be a three-inch steel bouquet brooch inlaid with jade. "What the hell are you doing?" he growled again, holding the pin up to her eyes.
She whimpered at the sight of the pin, and lifted up her dressing gown.Inside was a cream-yellow pajamas. She flipped the pajamas to the side, revealing the flesh under the left breast—the snow-white skin was covered with thin red marks, and there were many small red spots, all of which were made with That pin was scratched and stabbed. "Keep awake...go...wait for you...she said you'd come...too long." She rocked again.
Spade put his arms around her and said, "Go."
She struggled in his arms and turned her head to face him again. "No... tell you... to sleep... to save her..."
"Save Bridget?" he asked.
"Yes,...take her...Bulgam...Anke twenty-six...go quickly...it's too late..." Her head fell on her shoulders.
Spade lifted her head roughly. "Who took her there? Was it your father?"
"It's... Wilmer... Carol." She kept tossing.The eyelids moved, but they couldn't open them. "...Kill her." Her head fell down again.He lifted her up again.
"Who killed Jacobi?"
She didn't seem to hear the question.Qiai pitifully wanted to raise his head, opened his eyes, and murmured, "Go...she..."
He shook her violently. "Wake up and wait for the doctor to come."
She was frightened and opened her eyes involuntarily.For a moment, the bewildered face became sober for a while. "No, no," she called hoarsely, "Father...kill me...swear you won't...he'll know...I did it...for her...promised...don't...sleep...just Well...morning..."
He shook her again. "Is it guaranteed that the drug will pass after you sleep?"
"Yeah." Her head drooped again.
"Where is your bed?"
She tried to raise a hand, but couldn't pick it up, and pointed to the carpet.Like a tired child, she sighed, and her whole body relaxed and collapsed.
Spade grabbed her before she fell to the ground.He hugged her to his chest effortlessly and walked towards the nearest of the three doors.He turned the doorknob, unlocked the deadbolt, kicked the door open, and carried the girl into a hallway that led from an open bathroom to a bedroom.He looked into the bathroom, but there was no one there, so he carried the girl into the bedroom.There is no one here either.Judging from the clothes in front of me and the contents of the chest of drawers, this was a man's bedroom.
Spade carried the girl back to the green-carpeted room, intending to go through the opposite door.He went in through that door, down another hallway, past another empty bathroom, and into yet another bedroom.From the furnishings, it appears to be a woman's room.He lifted the coverlet, let the girl lie on the bed, took off her slippers, lifted her up a little, took off the yellow dressing gown, stuffed a pillow under her head, and covered her with the quilt.
Then he opened the two windows in the room, and stared at the sleeping girl with his back to the windows.She was breathing heavily, but had calmed down.Spade frowned, looked around, and bit his lip.It was already dusk in the room, and he stood in the dim light for five minutes.Finally, shrugging his broad sloping shoulders impatiently, he walked out.Leave the door to the outer room of the suite open.
Spade went to the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph office on Powell Street and called 2020 Davenport Street. "Please take the emergency hospital... Hello, there is a girl in room C on the twelfth floor of the Alexandria Hotel who has been poisoned... Yes, you'd better send someone to look at her... I am Mr. Hooper from the Alexandria Hotel."
He hung up the phone, laughing.He called again and said, "Hello, Frank, I'm Sam Spade...can you send me a car with a confidential driver...going to the peninsula right away...just two or three In an hour... yes, tell him to meet me at John's Kebab on Alice Street, the sooner the better."
He made another call to his own office, put the receiver to his ear and listened, then hung up without saying anything.
He came to John's Grill and told the waiter to prepare him short ribs, baked potatoes and sliced tomatoes.After a hasty meal, and drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette, a sturdy young man with a plaid cap on one side and light eyes came cheerfully up to his table.
"It's all ready, Mr. Spade, the car is fully fueled and ready to go."
"Excellent." Spade finished his coffee and followed the sturdy lad out. "Do you know if there is Anker Avenue or Anker Road, or what kind of boulevard in Burgum?"
"I don't know, but as long as there is this street, we can always find it."
"Let's look for it," Spade said.He got into the black Cadillac and sat next to the driver. "The house number we are looking for is No. 26, the sooner the better, but let's not stop at the gate."
"it is good."
They drove in silence for a while.The driver said, "Mr. Spade, has your partner been killed?"
"Ok."
The driver clicked his tongue. "It's a hard job to do. It's easy to get killed."
"Well, taxi drivers aren't immortal either."
"Perhaps you're right," admitted the burly man, "but that's all right, if I'm immortal."
Spade stared blankly ahead, and when the driver asked him something, he answered indifferently with yes or no.The driver didn't ask any more questions.
Arrived in Bulgarum.The driver got directions to Anker Avenue from a pharmacy.Ten minutes later, he parked the car in a dark corner, turned off the lights, and waved to the row of houses ahead. "That's right there, probably across the road, the third or the fourth."
Spade said, "Okay," and got out of the car. "Don't turn off the engine, maybe we'll have to go soon."
He crossed the road and went up the opposite side.Far ahead, a single street lamp was on.Five or six houses away, there are warm lights on both sides of the road embellishing the night.A crescent moon hangs high, like a street lamp in the distance, deserted and dim.The windows of a house across the road were open and there was the hum of a radio.
Spade stopped at the door of the second house on the corner.The fences on both sides are connected to two thick gateposts, which look very incongruous.The letters 2 and 6 in white metal are faintly visible on a doorpost.Pinned to it was a square white card.He looked over and saw that the card read a "For Sale or Rent" sign.There is no gate between the two gateposts.Spade walked down the concrete path to the house and stood motionless for a while at the foot of the porch steps.There was no sound at all in the room.The whole house was dark except for the same square white card nailed to the door.
Spade went to the door and listened, but heard nothing.He wanted to look into the room through the glass on the door. Although there was no curtain to block his view, it was so dark that he couldn't see anything.He tiptoed past window after window.Unexpectedly, windows are also like doors. Although there are no curtains, the inside is also dark.He pushed the two windows, and they were all tightly closed, and then pushed the door, which was also locked.
He left the porch and walked cautiously over the unfamiliar dark ground, circling the house among the weeds.The windows on the side of the house were so high that they couldn't reach them standing on the ground.The back door and the rear windows, though accessible, were locked.
Spade went back to the doorpost, wrapped his palm around the flame of the lighter, and leaned over the "For Sale or Rent" poster.On the bottom of the card was printed the name and address of a real estate agent; there was also a line of words written in blue pencil: "The key is at No. 31."
Spade returned to the car and asked the driver, "Do you have a flashlight?"
"Yes." He handed the flashlight to Spade. "Do you want me to help you?"
"Not sure." Spade got into the car. "We're going to No. 31, you turn on the lights."
No. 31 is a square gray building across the road.It's only a little way from number twenty-six.There are lights in the downstairs windows.Spade went into the porch and rang the bell.A dark-haired girl of fourteen or fifteen opened the door.Spade nodded and said with a smile, "I want the key to number twenty-six."
"I'll call Papa," she said, and went back into the house, calling, "Papa!"
A red-faced, bald, dumpy man with a big beard came out with a newspaper.
Spade said, "I want the key to number twenty-six."
The dumpy man looked a little undecided."There's no electricity there, you can't see it," he said.
Spade patted his pocket. "I have a flashlight."
The dumpy man became even more suspicious.He cleared his throat uneasily and crumpled the newspaper in his hand.
Spade showed him one of his business cards, put it back in his pocket, and said in a low voice, "We have a message that there may be something hidden there."
Humpty Humpty's look and voice were now invigorated. "Wait a minute," he said, "I'll go with you."
After a while he came back with a brass key with a small red and black plaque on it.As they passed the car, Spade waved to the driver, who followed. "Has anyone looked at the house lately?" Spade asked.
"Not so far as I know," replied Humpty Dumpty. "I haven't been asked for a key for two or three months."
Humpty Humpty walked ahead with the key and walked up to the porch.Then he put the key in Spade's hand, muttered, "Here you are," and then stood aside.
Spade unlocked and pushed the door open.It was dark and quiet inside.Spade, holding the flashlight in his left hand, entered the room in the dull beam.The driver went in after him; the fat dumpy man went in after a few steps.They searched the house from top to bottom, cautiously at first, but then emboldened when they saw nothing.The whole house was indeed empty, as if no one had been there for weeks.
Spade said, "Thank you, let's call it a day," and got off the car in front of the Alexandria Hotel.He entered the hotel and came to the reception desk, where sat a tall young man with a dark face and a dignified expression.He said, "Good evening, Mr. Spade."
"Good evening." Spade dragged the young man to the end of the information desk and asked him, "Is the Gutmans in room C on the twelfth floor?"
The young man gave Spade a quick look and said, "Not here." Then he looked away, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Spade again, and murmured, "A strange thing happened tonight. They have something to do with them. Mr. Spade, someone called the emergency hospital and told them there was a sick girl here."
"It didn't turn out that way?"
"No, there's no one in their room. They're all out before evening."
"Yeah, these pranksters love a joke, thank you," Spade said.
He went to the payphone, dialed a number and said, "Hello... Mrs. Perrine... Is Effie home... Oh, please... Thank you."
"Hey, baby! Is there any good news?...Okay, okay, don't go out, I'll be there in twenty minutes...Yes."
Half an hour later Spade came to the door of a two-story brick house on Ninth Street and rang the bell.Effie Perrine opened the door.Her boyish face looked tired, but she was still smiling. "Well, boss," she said, "come in." She whispered, "If my mother tells you anything, Sam, be kind to her. She's losing her temper."
Spade gave her a reassuring grin and patted her on the shoulder.
She took his arm. "Where's Miss O'Shaughnessy?"
"I didn't see it." He growled, "I fell into a trap. Are you sure it was her voice you heard just now?"
"No mistake."
He put on an unhappy face, "Well, that's a lie."
She led him into a bright sitting room, sighed, and collapsed on the end of the couch.Although quite tired, she still smiled at him happily.
He sat down next to her and asked, "Is everything going well? Didn't you mention the bag?"
"No mention. I just told them what you taught me. They probably thought that the call had something to do with this, so you went to investigate."
"Is Dundee coming?"
"Not here. Hough and Oga. Some others I don't know. I spoke to the sheriff."
"They took you to the game?"
"Oh yeah, they asked me a lot of questions, but you know it's routine."
Spade rubbed his hands together. "Excellent," he said, frowning. "I guess they'll come up with more questions to ask me when they see me. Dundee will ask, anyway, and so will Brian." He moved his shoulders. "Aside from the police, who else did you know come?"
"Yes," she said, sitting up. "That boy—the one who delivered Gutman's letter last time—was here. He didn't come in because the porch door was left open when the police came, and I just saw him standing outside."
"You didn't say anything, did you?"
"Oh, no, you told me not to talk, so I ignored him. I'll check after a while, and he's gone."
Spade grinned straight at her. "You're lucky, girl, luckily the police arrived first."
"What's the matter?"
"He's a villain, the boy—very vicious. Is it Jacoby?"
"good."
He squeezed her hand tightly and stood up. "I have to go, you're exhausted, you'd better go to bed."
She stood up. "Sam, what's-"
He put his hand over her mouth and said: "We'll talk on Monday, before your mother catches me, scold me for dragging her into the water, I have to slip away first."
It was past midnight when Spade got home.As soon as he inserted the key into the keyhole of the door, there was a sound of cursing and scolding coming quickly in high-heeled shoes.He put down the key and turned around.Bridget O'Shaughnessy ran up the steps to his side.She put her arms around him, hung on him, and said out of breath, "Oh, I thought you weren't coming back!" Her face was haggard, upset, and she was shaking all over.
He supported her with one hand, found the key with the other, and opened the door.He half-supported and half-hugged her in. "You've been waiting for me" he asked.
"Yeah," she gasped. "In the street...a doorway..."
"Can you go?" he asked, "Or do you want me to hug you?"
She leaned on his shoulder and shook her head. "I'll...okay...as long as I...have a place...to...sit down."
They took the elevator up to his apartment.When he opened the door, she stood aside—panting, arms folded.He turned on the light in the hallway, and the two went into the house.He closed the door, put his arms around her again, and led her to the sitting room.One step away from the sitting room, the lights inside came on.
cried the girl, and clung to Spade.
Big Fat Gutman was standing just inside the door, smiling kindly.The boy Wilmer came out of the kitchen behind them.The two jet-black pistols looked enormously large in his small hands.Kylo came out of the bathroom, also holding a pistol.
Gutman said, "Well, sir, you saw it yourself, we're all here. Now let's come in, sit down, and get comfortable and talk."
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