Chapter 13 13

13 Suddenly, Randall remembered that one summer vacation in high school, he read "The Shackles of Human Nature" for the first time by Maugham.The main character in the book, Philip Cary, was born with clubfoot. At the age of 14, Philip became religious.He heard that as long as you believe in God, there are no insurmountable difficulties in the world.He decided that if he had enough faith to pray to God day and night, God would make his clubfoot normal.Philip believed in God wholeheartedly and prayed to God every day, waiting for a miracle to happen.The night before the miracle happened, he sincerely prayed to God again to please God.After he went to bed, he quickly fell asleep confidently.He awoke the next morning with joy and gratitude in his heart.His first thought was to touch his now normal foot, but to do so would have been to doubt the goodness of God. He knew that his foot was healed.But at last he made up his mind, and he touched his left foot with the toes of his right foot, and then he touched it with his hand.As a result, he went downstairs with a limp...

After reading this story, Randall felt that he, too, had become cynical. Where's Lori Cook?He continued to listen. "I never blamed God in my heart," she continued. "There are so many people who pray to God, I think, when I pray, he is too busy, but I still believe in him. A year ago I was going to go back home, but that's when I heard that a religious institution needed a secretary. My subconscious told me I should go to London for an interview, and I was accepted. Then, I was sent to Amsterdam. Since then, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to Jesus' Second Resurrection 'This project, and have never regretted it. Everything here is so mysterious, but full of excitement, exciting. I am serious about my work, and I am waiting to see the great book that we have completed .”

Randall was deeply moved.He said, "You won't be disappointed, Lori. Well, now, you're hired." Lori was so excited. "Thank you, Mr. Randall. I—I intend to be at work from this moment on, if you need me to do anything." "I don't think so. Besides, it's already off-duty time." "Well, if you have no objection, Mr. Randall, I would like to stay a little longer and move some necessities here from the old desk." Lori limped to the door and was about to open it to go out when suddenly Randall remembered something important and it was Naomi who took his attention away from here. The above shifted away.

"Wait a minute, Lori. There's something I need you to do for me. I want a copy of the International New Testament in English right away. I know there's a typed copy in Albert Cram's editorial office." Proof of the International New Testament. Can you get me in touch with him?" Lori left in a hurry to carry out her first assignment in her new position. Randall sat quietly waiting.A few seconds passed, and suddenly the phone rang, and Randall answered it right away.It's Lori calling. "I'm sorry, Mr. Randall," Lori said on the phone, "Mr. Clem has just left here. I can recommend another person to you, sir. The librarian, Hans Bogardes has every Where is the transcript kept. He often works late, shall I go over to him and try?"

After a while, Randall got in touch with the librarian. "Mr. Bogardes, I'm Steve Randall. I'd like a proof reading of the International New Testament, and I..." There was a woman-like cheerful laughter from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Randall, I still want a diamond from Cojano!" This annoyed Randall, who said, "I understand that you have records of where each copy is kept." "No one who owns a transcript will allow you to see it. I'm the librarian for the project, and I can't read it myself." "Well, I was allowed to see it, my friend. Mr. Wheeler promised me to see it as soon as I got to Amsterdam."

"Mr. Wheeler has left. Wait until tomorrow if you will." "I want it tonight," Randall said angrily. Bogardes' voice grew serious and eager. "Tonight," he repeated, "in that case, only Dr. Deckhard can help you. There is a transcript in English in the basement below, but only he has the right to it. I happened to learn that Deckhard Dr. Kerhard is still in his office." "Thank you." After Randall finished speaking, he immediately hung up the phone. He stood up and strode out of the office.In the alcove, Lori was arranging a pile of necessities on her desk.

When Randall passed by her in a hurry, he warned: "Call Dr. Deckhard immediately and tell him that I will go to see him and only delay his time for a while. Tell him that this matter is very important." He rushed into the corridor, ready to enter a new battle. Twenty minutes later, he sat comfortably in the back seat of a large Mercedes-Benz limousine, and the driver Theo drove through the twilight. Randall has already won this battle. Dr. Deckhard agreed very reluctantly that if these publishers were to promote the International New Testament, their advertising guides should have the opportunity to read the transcripts.However, there are specific additional conditions for borrowing the manuscript. Randall can only borrow it for one night, and he must return the manuscript to Dr. Deckhard immediately the next morning. He is not allowed to disclose what he saw to anyone. You can't even say a word to your own staff.He can only use what he sees to develop a propaganda outline, and this outline must be safely kept in a safe file cabinet.

In two weeks Herr Karl Henning was returning from Mainz to Amsterdam with the printed Bible.Then, and only then, Randall and his staff will each get a copy of the Bible.From then on, Randall was free to discuss with others the promotional outline developed after reading the "Bible" manuscript tonight, and all publicists were also free to make various preparations for the promotional activities. Randall immediately complied with the demands, vowing to follow every precaution.Then he waited expectantly until Mr. Grote, the cellar master, appeared before him with the proofs in English.

Mr. Grote was a squat, smiling Dutchman who looked unreal, like a finely carved wax figure.He wore an ill-fitting wig, a dentist-like moustache, a submissive businesslike demeanor, and carried an oddly shaped pistol (Randall had asked him and knew it was a Belgian product. ).The pistol was in a leather holster, protruding from under Grote's open, narrow overcoat.He handed the Bible—the proof—between stretches of plain white cardboard emblazoned with a large blue swastika, and handed it to Randall stiffly and formally, as if to The autograph letter personally awarded to Randall. Now his bulging briefcase contained the proofs of the International New Testament as well as photographs of the finds in Ostia Antica and reports from the staff.Seeing that the first day of work of the "Second Resurrection" project is over, I temporarily lean on the seat of the car to enjoy a moment of relaxation.

Through the rear window of the car, he saw that the car had crossed the square and entered a boulevard, and then came to a bustling market place, which Randall remembered was what the Dutch liked to call "Broadway." After crossing this downtown area, the city suddenly fell silent, except for a few cars passing by occasionally, there was almost no movement around.Randall squinted in the darkness, trying to read the name of the street so he could take another walk someday.Finally, he managed to see clearly, it was called Utret-Sestritt Street. Suddenly, he had an urge to go for a walk. He wanted to stretch his muscles and breathe some fresh air.Besides, he didn't feel hungry at all right now.Although he was eager to read the content of the "International New Testament", if it was extended a little later, it would also increase his excitement.He stayed indoors all day like a bird in a cage, really bored.He wanted to go for a walk, as long as everything was carried out according to the safety measures Helderlin explained, there would be no trouble.

"Theo, how far do we estimate we are from the Amstel Hotel?" "Very close, not too far away. About six or seven blocks away." "Well, just park on the corner there, Theo, just ahead where the canal meets the street." The driver turned sideways, with a puzzled look on his face: "Mr. Randall, do you want me to stop?" "Yes. Just let me get off in front. There is a little way left, I want to walk back." "Mr. Randall, my task is to not let you out of my sight until I send you back to the hotel safely." "I understand your mission, Theo, and I don't want you to violate our orders. You can keep me out of your sight, and you can drive slowly behind me, how about it?" Theo still hesitated: "But..." Randall shook his head.These people simply perform their tasks invariably, like programmed robots. "Look, Theo, we're still sticking to the rules. I don't want to disobey orders as much as you do. You can watch me along the way. I've never left the city since I've been here, and I want to get a little exercise, Just drop me right here. You can follow me after 50 feet." Theo took a soft breath, then quickly pulled the car aside and stopped.He jumped out of his seat to open the rear door, but Randall got out of the car with his briefcase. "Tell me what is this place," he said, "and point me in the right direction." Theo pointed to the left of the canal. "You go straight on from here, and when you get to the end, you'll see the beautiful Amstel River. You go one, two, three blocks to Savodiestelter, and then Go left, and the first little street after the bridge is Tourpreny Street, where the magnificent Amstel Hotel is. If you go wrong, I'll honk." "Thank you, Theo." Randall stood where he was until Theo pulled the big luxury Mercedes behind him, waved gratefully to the driver, and walked forward.For the first time since coming here, he felt so free.He took a deep breath, filled his lungs with fresh air, and then exhaled deeply. Holding the heavy briefcase in his hand, he strolled along the narrow streets. After a minute or two, Randall looked behind him.Fifty feet away, Theo kept his promise and followed him in the big, luxurious Mercedes. Well, the order, the regulation, he finally admitted.The walk was so pleasant that he felt his spirit revived again. It's so lovely here, so peaceful and quiet after a busy day.The tension slowly left Randall, and the tense nerves were stretched.Several small cars parked there sparsely.On the side of Randall, under the dim light of the street lamps, the shadows of several rows of houses with strange styles can be vaguely seen.In front of the old door, there are short stairs.Most of those houses have no curtains and no lights, and they look lifeless.Randall guessed that the good citizens of Amsterdam are always in the habit of going to bed early. On the other side of Randall, under the dark blue night, you can see the calm water surface of the canal not far below the narrow street. The boats tied to the wrong boats, some of which are houses of people on the water, glow with lights, You can also see children in pajamas walking around in front of the window, very cute.The lights on the boat flicker on the water, and the scenery is very moving. Randall walked slowly towards the end of the canal, the events of the day replaying in his mind scene after scene.He thought of Darina, and silently hoped that she would have a good time in the city.He thought of meeting the clerks, bright young men.He thought again of lunches with powerful religious publishers and theologians.They have the same goal, but there are various contradictions.He thought of Lori Cook, and it brought his thoughts back to his daughter, Judy, whom he wished he had with him right now.This divorce battle must have caused her endless troubles.The outlines of the people involved in his life—Judy, Barbara, Torrey, McLoughlin, his father, mother, Claire, Tom Carey—all seemed so far away in the still night rather vague. Randall suddenly stopped in his tracks as a white tabby cat walked leisurely in front of him.He was about to move on when the headlights of oncoming cars blinded him.Instinctively, he blocked his eyes with his hands, barely able to see the appearance of the car.The car speeding up from the other side of the river was increasing its speed and approaching him step by step. This sudden turn of events nearly paralyzed Randall for a few seconds.He saw the black sedan speeding toward him, seeming to grow bigger and bigger, almost crushing him underneath.Didn't the bloody idiot see him up ahead?Didn't he see Theo right behind him too?At the moment when the huge monster was about to press him down, Randall's legs seemed to regain consciousness all of a sudden.He started to sprint sideways to avoid the speeding car.But the two cruel yellow lights still followed him closely.Then he saw that the car also suddenly turned around and was driving towards him at such a speed that it almost knocked him over.At this time, in order to escape for his life, he had to rush towards the canal. When he stumbled and rushed forward, the briefcase fell from his hand accidentally. Randall fell straight to the ground, so breathless that he had to lie on the ground and wait for the car to drive away.Unexpectedly, the car "squeaked" and made a friction sound.He looked sideways, and found that the car stopped in a T-shape, and finally did not collide with each other—the car rushing up from behind was Theo's car. Randall lay prone, and he saw a man with a hat on his head—the driver, rushing out of the car and pulling Theo's door open.Suddenly, the door on the other side of the car was slammed open, and Randall's attention was drawn to another man.This hairless, faceless, grotesque and frightening man, with a stretchy stocking tightly wrapped around his head, jumped out of the car and ran fast, not to Randall, instead, ran toward something behind the car on the road. Immediately, Randall's heart trembled. The thing on the road was his briefcase. Every nerve in Randall pushed him, urging him to his feet.He exerted all his strength and barely got up.He wobbled, knees stacked like hinges, and he grabbed onto the parking meter for balance. The eccentric and obnoxious guy with his head in the nylon stockings had grabbed the briefcase and was running back. Randall's eyes searched for his driver, but Theo was not in the car, there was no sign of Theo anywhere.The other assailant, the driver in the hat, was again in the black sedan, still trying to avoid the obstacle in front of him and try to drive the car over.And his accomplice, with the briefcase in his hand, has already rushed to the car. "Put it down!" Randall yelled. "Police! Police!" Then Randall ran over quickly.The man had come to the open car door and was about to walk in.At this time Randall quickly and agilely used his body as a cannonball, slammed into him, and hugged him from behind without fear.He felt the thief's leg against his cheekbone.He heard the thief's heavy breathing.The two of them fell towards the car door and fell on the road. In a frenzy, Randall cast aside his opponent, desperate to retrieve the briefcase.As soon as his hand touched the smooth leather, he felt a heavy blow on the back, and he was strangled by the throat, almost suffocating.Randall pulled the hands away with all his might, then let out a yelp with all his might.Randall was vaguely aware of a strange, high-pitched sound beyond their gasps as he fought back the men behind him as they struggled to break free. It was sirens, louder, closer, louder. He also heard urgent calls from the car: "The police are here! Get in the car!" Suddenly, he was let go, and he fell face-to-face. The claws that were strangling his throat disappeared, and the fist disappeared.He got down on his knees, grabbed the briefcase, and hugged it tightly to his chest.The doors slammed shut behind him, the engine started, the gear was engaged, and the tires spun on the road.Randall was still staggering on his knees.He looked behind him.The car sped away like a rocket being launched, disappeared, and was swallowed up in the night. Randall felt dizzy, and he tried to stand up, but finally failed.Then, gradually, he became aware that strong arms were grabbing him from under the armpit, and someone helped him to his feet.He turned his head and saw that the man who helped him was wearing a navy blue hat with a black brim, a caring expression on his ruddy face, a gray-blue jacket, dark blue trousers, and a police badge, Whistle, baton, and a pistol similar to that worn by Mr. Grote, badges—a Dutch policeman.Another policeman in the same uniform also ran over.The two cops were talking in a language Randall didn't understand. Randall stood staggeringly.Finally, he finally saw Theo.Theo was pale and panting, with bruises on his neck.He squeezed between the two policemen and spoke rapidly to them in Dutch. "Mr. Randall, Mr. Randall," Theo called out, "are you hurt?" "I'm fine, really fine," Randall said, "just a little overwhelmed by the sudden shock. What happened to you? I called you." "I tried to help as much as I could, I was trying to get the gun out of the toolbox of the car, but the lock was jammed. A guy hugged me from behind and beat me so hard with a club that I fell on the seat. Yours Is the briefcase still there? Ah, good, good." Randall saw a white Dutch police car coming this way, with blue lights flashing and badges printed on the doors.A police officer yelled at the policeman holding Randall's arm, "Vrang lem wat uoorten auto het was en hoe veel varen dadr." The policeman turned to Randall and said in fluent English, "The police want to know which vehicle The style of the car, and how many of them there are." "I don't know the make of the car," Randall said. "It was a black car. There were two of them, one with a hat on, and the driver who attacked me, I didn't see him clearly. I just saw the guy trying to take my briefcase with stockings on his head. He was probably a blond-haired Caucasian guy in a turtleneck jumper, a little shorter than me, but taller than me Be strong. I—I can't remember anything else, maybe my driver, Theo, can give you some more clues." The policeman asked Theo similar questions, and then relayed them to the officer in Dutch.After the officer thanked them, the white Dutch police car roared away into the night. The next ten minutes or so were routine.Onlookers from nearby houses and from the Amstel Bridge ahead gathered curiously, watching and listening, with puzzled expressions on their faces.Randall produced his passport, and the first cop took detailed notes.Randall was questioned politely, and he carefully repeated what had happened.But he intentionally stated vaguely about the purpose of coming to Amsterdam.Came here just for vacation, to visit some business friends, that's all, no other special purpose.Do you think about what causes others to attack you and hurt you?He couldn't figure it out.Besides the bruise on the knee, is there any other injury?there is none left. Satisfied, the cop who recorded closed the notepad. Theo stood in front of Randall.He said seriously: "Mr. Randall, would you like to drive with me for the rest of the way?" Randall secretly felt a little funny: "I think I would." Randall, briefcase in hand, walked with Theo toward the large limousine, accompanied by two police officers.The crowd of onlookers gradually left.Randall got into the car and sat in the back seat.Theo slammed the door shut, the rear window was lowered, and the first policeman, now his friend, poked his head in. "Wij vrayen excuus, he said, Het spijt mij dat u verschrikt bent Het—" He stopped suddenly, shook his head, and said, "I'm speaking Dutch again. We're sorry you're in trouble here, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. It's clear that these are two thugs trying to rob. Fortunately, they just want your briefcase. Two thieves." Randall cracked a smile.Just want his briefcase, just two usual thieves. The policeman said again: "If we catch them, we will contact you and let you identify them." Randall wants to say that you're not going to catch them, ever.Instead, he simply said, "Thank you, thank you very much." Theo had started the car.As the cop stood aside, Randall saw the oval badge on his shirt.That metal badge has a book on it, and on top of the book is a sword, head up, protecting the book.The words "Wagilat at quiescant" are engraved on the side of the police badge.Randall remembered the meaning of these words: because they are guarding, you can be safe. The sword guards the book. However, he knew that he could never be sure that he was safe. At least for the days when the book still needs to be kept under wraps.