Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Thomas Bowers—whose real name was Jeff Stevens—sat by the porthole.He looked out the window as the plane took off.He took out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes, and his shoulders trembled violently. Dennis Trevor—aka Brenton Higgins—sat beside him, watching him in wonder. "Hey," said Higgins, "but there's nothing to cry about when you lose some money." When Jeff Stevens turned his tear-stained face, Higgins was shocked to find that Jeff had been laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. "What's wrong with you?" Higgins asked. "There's nothing funny about that!"

In Jeff's opinion, this incident is really funny.The scene where Tracy Whitney fights them off at the airport is literally the best swindle he's ever seen.There are always people who better than you.Conrad Morgan told them the woman was a green hand.Goodness, Jeff thought, what if she's an expert?Tracy Whitney was without a doubt the most beautiful woman Jeff Stevens had ever seen.And the smartest.Jeff has always considered himself the best liar in the industry, but this time he was defeated by her.Uncle Willie will like her, Jeff thought. Jeff was taught by Uncle Willie.Jeff's mother was a trusting woman who had inherited a farming equipment business and married a man with no vision but a lot of ideas.He had many get-rich-quick schemes, but none of them succeeded.Jeff's father was a likable man, dark, handsome, and eloquent.In the first five years of marriage, he squandered his wife's inheritance.Jeff's childhood memories are of his parents arguing over money and his father's extramarital affairs.This is a miserable marriage.So little Jeff made up his mind: I will never get married in the future.

His father's brother, Uncle Willie, was the head of a traveling vaudeville troupe, and whenever he was in Marion, Ohio, he visited at the Stevens' house.Jeff had never met anyone as happy as he was.Uncle Willie is very optimistic and full of confidence in the future.He always brings fun presents to little Jeff and teaches him funny tricks.Uncle Willie was a magician in a vaudeville troupe at first, and then the vaudeville troupe was about to go bankrupt, and Uncle Willie became the head of the show. When Jeff was fourteen, his mother died in a car accident.Two months later Jeff's father married a nineteen-year-old hotel maid.Jeff was very depressed, feeling that his father had betrayed him coldly.

Jeff's father was a chipboard salesman who traveled three days a week.One night Jeff was home with his stepmother when he was woken up by the sound of the bedroom door opening.After a while, he felt a soft, naked body lying beside him.Jeff sat up in horror. "Hold me, Jeff," whispered my stepmother, "I'm afraid of thunder." "No—no thunder," stammered Jeff. "It might thunder. The paper says rain." She clung to him. "Just make out with me, baby." The child is scared. "Okay. Can I go to Dad's bed?" "Okay." She smiled. "We're all bad, aren't we?"

"I'll be right there," Jeff said. She slipped out of bed and into another bedroom.Jeff had never dressed so quickly.He jumped out of the window and headed for Cimarron, Kansas.Uncle Willie's vaudeville troupe performed there.Jeff doesn't miss his home at all. When Uncle Willie asked him why he ran away from home, he simply said, "I don't get along with my stepmother." Uncle Willie called Jeff's father, and the two talked for a long time, and finally decided to let the child stay in the sideshow. "He'll get a better education here than at any school," said Uncle Willie.

Sideshow itself is a small world. "We're not your usual show crew," Uncle Willie told Jeff. "It's full of good con artists. But first you have to remember, boy, if people weren't greedy, they wouldn't fall for your tricks." .As Fields said, no one can fool an honest man." The members of the sideshow troupe became good friends with Jeff.Among them were those in charge of the "outside field" who ran various stalls in the outside field, and "inside field" actors, such as the fat woman and the tattooed woman, who performed special performances; and various gambling game operators. host.There were some girls of marriageable age in the vaudeville, and they all liked the boy.Jeff inherited his mother's sensitive and delicate personality and his father's dark, handsome appearance.The girls scramble to chase Jeff.His first love was a beautiful lithe acrobat, who was admired by girls for years to come.

Uncle Willie tried to get Jeff to try every job in the sideshow. "You're going to be leader someday," Uncle Willie said to him, "and you've got to know more than everybody else if you're going to be the leader." Jeff first started to learn the "cat toss game" where tourists pay to throw balls at six canvas cats with wooden seats, and whoever knocks the cats into one of the upper nets is the winner.The moderator first demonstrates that hitting cats and accessing the Internet is as easy as pie.But when the tourists started to do it, the "Orion" hidden behind the curtain raised a small stick and pressed the cloth cat's wooden seat firmly.Even sharpshooter Sandy Koufax (the famous American baseball player) couldn't beat the six cats.

"Hey, you voted too low," said the host, "you have to be clever." Make cleverness is a secret code.As soon as the host said this, Orion, who was hiding behind the scenes, withdrew his stick, and the cloth cat was thrown into the net by the host.At this time, the host will say: "Understood?" This is to tell Orion that it is time to stretch out a stick to hold down the cloth cat's base.There's always another redneck willing to show off his grinning girlfriend. Jeff went to learn to "make up numbers" again.The host lined up some clothespins and asked paid tourists to put rubber rings on the clothespins.The clothespins are marked with numbers, and if the numbers on the hooked clothespins add up to 29, the visitor wins a very expensive toy.The fools who play the game don't know that the two sides of the clothespin are marked with different numbers, and the host can hide a number at a critical moment, so that the total cannot make up 29, so the tourists will never win.

One day Uncle Willie said to Jeff, "You did a great job, boy, and I think it's a honour, too. Now it's time for you to learn 'stunts.'" "Stunt" hosts are the cream of the crop, and the rest of the sideshow troupe looks up to them.They have the highest salary in the regiment, live in high-end hotels, and drive luxury cars. The "stunt" involved a roulette wheel with arrows, carefully balanced on a glass panel.A thin piece of paper is placed in the center of the roulette.The four sides of the roulette are divided into fan areas of equal area and numbered.The gambler spins the roulette wheel, the arrow lands on an area marked with a number, and that area is erased from the paper.The gambler turns a second time, and another area pointed by the arrow is painted out again. The "stunt" host explained that if all the areas were painted over, punters could win a fortune.The closer the gambler gets to this ultimate goal, the more the "stunt" host encourages him to raise the stakes.The host will look around nervously, then whisper, "I'm not the boss, and I want you to win. Give me points for winning."

The host will give the gamblers five or ten dollars. "Put me a bet, will you? You've got to win this time." The fool would think he had a backer.Jeff is a master at tricking gamblers.There are fewer blank spaces on the roulette wheel, more chances of winning money, and more excitement for gamblers. "You can't lose this time!" Jeff would yell.Gamblers can't wait to raise their bets.When there is only one blank area left at the end, the gambler will be extremely excited.The fool would bet all his money, and, often, he would rush home to collect some stakes.But the gamblers never win, because the "stunt" host or his partner will secretly touch the table at the critical moment, so that the arrow always points in the wrong place.

Jeff quickly learned the vaudeville lingo for "hooking," which is to manipulate gaming equipment so that stupid gamblers lose instead of winning.Those who loudly solicit customers outside the arcade are called "talkers" by laymen, and "orators" by people in vaudeville.One-tenth of the proceeds of the show went to the orator, because he brought in spectators.The prizes won by tourists are called "handouts", and the "postman" refers to the police who must be paid for. Jeff became an expert at motivating spectators.When the tourists paid to watch the performance, Jeff encouraged and said: "Ladies and gentlemen: the spectacle you see in the photos, pictures and advertisements outside will be performed in this tent, as long as you pay a normal fee." Entrance fee will suffice. However, after the young girl has been tortured in the electric chair, and her poor body has been tortured by fifty thousand volts of high voltage, we will immediately perform an additional wonderful festival, which will be the same as the previous program. It doesn't matter, and there is no commercial outside. It is a really wonderful program, thrilling, and makes your hair stand on end, so I dare not advertise outside, for fear of frightening innocent children and sensitive and vulnerable women." After willing customers paid an extra dollar, Jeff ushered them in to see a waistless girl or a baby with two heads.That was of course just a trick with a few mirrors. One of the vaudeville's most lucrative shows was "A Mouse in a Hole."Use a bowl to buckle a live mouse in the center of the table. There are ten holes on the edge of the table, all of which are numbered.Mice may run into either hole when the bowl is uncovered.Each visitor can choose a hole to bet on, and whoever the mouse enters into the hole will win the lottery. "What's shutting down here?" Jeff asked Uncle Willy. "Are the rats trained?" Uncle Willie couldn't help laughing.Who the hell has time to train rats!The reason is simple: when the host sees that no one is betting on a hole, he dips some vinegar and paints it on the hole.The mouse was safe in that hole. Beautiful belly dancer Karen teaches Jeff how to "sell the keys". "After the 'speech' at the sideshow gate on Saturday night," Karen told him, "you can take some male tourist aside and sell him the door keys to the station wagon I live in. Can be sold to several tourists .” The keys cost five yuan each.There would be a dozen tourists milling around her trailer in the middle of the night, when Karen and Jeff had slipped off to a hotel in town for the night.The cheated fools came to Jeff to settle the account the next day, and the sideshow troupe had already started. During the next four years Jeff gained a deeper understanding of human nature.He found that it was easy to incite greed, and that people were too gullible.They believe all kinds of wild lies, because greed makes them willing to believe lies.At eighteen Jeff had grown into a handsome man whose well-proportioned gray eyes, tall stature, and curly black hair would interest the most careless woman.Men will love his fun and easy going.Even children can easily regard him as a bosom friend, it seems that he still has a childlike innocence that can easily resonate with children.The female tourists flirt with Jeff unscrupulously, but Uncle Willy warns: "Don't mess with the girls in the city, boy, their father must be a powerful official." The knife thrower's wife gets Jeff out of the sideshow.The vaudeville troupe had just arrived in Millgeville, Georgia, and they were setting up camp.A Sicilian knife-thrower named Zobini and his handsome blond wife sign up for a new program at the vaudeville circuit.While Zobini was getting ready on the field, his wife invited Jeff to play in their room at the town hotel. "Zobini's been busy all day," she said to Jeff. "Let's have a good time." Sounds pretty good. "Come back to the hotel in an hour," she said. "Why wait an hour?" Jeff asked. She smiled and said, "I won't be ready in an hour." The longer Jeff waited outside, the more curious he became, and when he finally came to her room at the hotel, she greeted him at the door, naked.Jeff opened his arms, but she took his hand and said, "Come here." He walked into the bathroom, eyes widening in surprise.It turned out that she mixed six different flavors of jelly with warm water and filled a bathtub. "What's this?" Jeff asked. "Sweets. Undress, baby." Jeff took off the rein. "Go into the bathtub." He stepped into the bathtub, sat down, and immediately felt an extremely strange feeling.The smooth jelly seemed to seep into every crevice of his body, caressing his body, and the blonde woman also sat in. "Okay," she said, "dinner is ready." At this moment, the bathroom door suddenly opened and Zobini broke in.The Sicilian glanced at his wife and at the panicked Jeff.shouted: "Tu sei una puttana! Vi ammazzo tutti e due! Dove sono i miei coltelli?" ("Shameless women! You must be killed! Where is my knife?") Jeff couldn't understand a word, but he could hear her husband throwing a fit.When Zobini ran out to get the knife, he jumped out of the bathtub, grabbed his clothes, and the colorful fruits stuck to him like rainbows.He jumped out of the window naked and fled down the alley.He heard someone shouting behind him, and felt a knife flying past his ear.Whoosh!Another knife came flying.Then he ran away.He hid in a culvert, put his shirt and trousers on his jelly-covered body, and creaked toward the station.He took the next bus and left the city. Six months later Jeff was in Vietnam. Every soldier has a different experience of war, and after Jeff participated in the Vietnam War, he despised bureaucracy and hated any kind of authority.For two years, he participated in a war that was impossible to win. He was shocked by the waste of a lot of money, materials and lives. He hated the betrayal and deceit of those smooth-talking generals and politicians even more.We've been coaxed and dragged into a war no one wants to fight, Jeff thought.It's a deception, the biggest deception in the world. Jeff heard of Uncle Willie's death a week before he retired, and the vaudeville troupe broke up.The old days are over.Jeff was about to start his life anew. In later years Jeff took risks.In his view the whole world is a big juggling field, people are gullible spectators.He devises all sorts of tricks of his own.He advertised in newspapers selling color photographs of the president for a dollar.For every dollar he received, he sent a postage stamp with a portrait of the President to the money-sending fool. Jeff put a bulletin in the magazine, telling people to send five dollars as soon as possible, only the last sixty days left, no waiting for expiration.The revelation did not say what the five yuan could buy, but the money was sent to Jeff continuously. Jeff spent three months in a boiler room making phone calls selling bogus oil stocks. Jeff loves sailing.A friend introduced him to work on a schooner bound for Tahiti, and he signed on as a sailor. It was a handsome white schooner one hundred and sixty-five feet long, shining in the sun, with all sails spread wide.The deck was teak, and the hull was made of long, shiny Douglas fir planks.There is a living room for twelve people, and in front of the living room there is a kitchen with an electric oven.The crew lived in the bow cabin.In addition to the captain, a waiter, and a cook, there were five deckhands on board.Jeff's task was to help everyone hoist the sails, clean the copper portholes, and climb the rope ladder to the low spar to reef the sails.The schooner carried eight passengers. "The owner's name is Holland," Jeff's friend told him. The owner, whose full name was Louise Holland, turned out to be a fair-haired beauty of twenty-five.Her father owns half of the assets in Central America.The passengers on board were all her friends, whom Jeff's companions sarcastically called "the rabble." The first day Jeff worked in the hot sun, polishing the brass on the deck.Louise Holland stopped beside him. "You're new here!" He looked up. "yes." "Do you have a name?" "Jeff Stevens." "Good name." He didn't answer. "Do you know who I am?" "have no idea." "My name is Louise Holland. This boat is mine." "Got it. I'm working for you." She looked at him and smiled slightly. "Yes." "Then, if you don't want to waste my money, don't get in my way." Jeff went to another copper stake and began to rub it. In the forecastle at night, the crew sneered about the ship's passengers.But Jeff admits in his heart that he envies those people—they have status, are educated, and live a carefree life.They were born into wealthy families and went to the best schools.His own school was a sideshow, and the teacher was Uncle Willie. One of the sideshow troupe was a professor of archeology who was expelled from the university for stealing and selling cultural relics.He often had long talks with Jeff.Under the influence of the professor, Jeff also developed a strong interest in archeology. "The future of mankind can be clearly seen from history," said the professor. "Think about it, child. Thousands of years ago, people like you and me lived in the world. They had all kinds of beautiful dreams, made up all kinds of stories, lived their lives, and gave birth to our ancestors." His eyes were in a trance stand up. "Carthage—I really want to go there and see it. Long before Christ was born, Carthage was already a famous city, the Paris of ancient Africa. People there have their own ways of recreation, baths, and carriages. Competition. The big arena is the size of five football fields." He noticed the child's rapt eyes. "Do you know how Cato the Elder (Cato the Elder [234-149 B.C.], Roman statesman) ended his speech every time in the Senate, saying, 'Delenda est cartaga'—'Delenda est cartaga'—" Taiki must be destroyed'. His prophecy finally came true. The Romans razed the city to the ground. Twenty-five years later the Romans returned and built a great city on the ruins. Son, when I really want to take you there to discover cultural relics." A year later, the professor died of alcohol poisoning, but Jeff made up his mind to go out for some research in the future. He went to Carthage first and made a wish for the professor. On the eve of the schooner's arrival in Tahiti, Jeff was summoned to Louise Holland's cabin.She was wearing a very thin silk nightgown. "Are you looking for me, miss?" "Are you gay, Jeff?" "That's none of your business, Miss Holland, but I'm not gay. I'm picky." Miss Louise Holland pursed her lips. "What kind of woman do you like? Whores, don't you?" "Sometimes," Jeff admitted. "Is there anything else you want from me, Miss Holland?" "Yes. I'm having a party tomorrow night. Would you like to come?" Jeff stared at the woman for a long time before saying, "Of course I would." That's how their relationship started. Louise Holland, who had been married twice before she was twenty-one, met Jeff just as her lawyers had negotiated a divorce from her third husband.On the second night of anchorage in Papeete (the capital of Polynesia), with the passengers and crew ashore, Jeff was called to Louise Holland's cabin again.When Jeff came in, she was wearing a long colored silk dress with the skirt parted wide enough to show her thighs. "I want to take the dress off," she said, "but I can't reach the zipper." Jeff went over to examine the dress. "There's no zipper on this skirt." She turned to look at him and smiled. "I know, that's why I asked you for help." They were both lying on the deck, and the warm tropical breeze caressed their bodies, as if blessing them.After the intoxicating rush subsided, they lay opposite each other on their sides.Jeff propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at Louise. "Is your father a powerful official?" Jeff asked. She sat up in surprise. "what?" "You're the first townsman I ever fell in love with. Uncle Willie used to tell me that town girls often have powerful fathers." They have been together every night since then.Louise's friends were amused at first.Louise found another toy, they thought.They were all shocked, however, when she announced her intention to marry Jeff. "My God, Louise, he's not good enough for you! He's been in a sideshow before. To marry him is to marry a groom. He's handsome and big, but you won't have anything in common except sleep." interest of." "Louise, Jeff is just a snack, not a meal." "You have to consider your social status." "Honestly, baby, he can't play the part well." But no matter what the friends said, Louise could not be persuaded.She had never met such an attractive man as Jeff.All the handsome men, she found, were either startlingly stupid or repulsively dull.Jeff is smart and funny.Such a perfect man, she must marry him soon. When Louise mentioned the marriage to Jeff, Jeff was as surprised as Louise's friends. "Why do you get married? My body is already yours. If you want anything else, I can't get it out." "It's simple, Jeff. I love you and want to grow old with you." For Jeff, the unfamiliar concept of marriage suddenly became familiar.Stripped of that vulgar, worldly veneer, Louise Holland turned out to be a fragile, confused little girl.She needs me, Jeff thought.To start a stable family, to have children, suddenly became a glamorous ideal. For as long as Jeff could remember, he seemed to have been wandering here and there, and it was time to end that wandering. They were married three days later at the town hall in Tahiti. After they got back to New York, Jeff was called into Scott Fogotty's office.He was Louise Holland's lawyer, a small, impassive man with tight lips.Jeff couldn't help thinking that his ass was probably tight too. "Please sign this document," said the lawyer. "what document?" "A waiver. The content is very simple, that is, if you break your engagement with Louise Holland..." "Louise Stevens." "...if you break off your engagement to Louise Stevens, you will have no share in any of her fortune..." Jeff felt the muscles in his face tighten. "Where is the sign?" "Don't you want to hear me finish?" "No. You don't understand me. I didn't marry her for her bad money." "Really, Mr. Stevens? I just wanted to-" "Do you want me to sign it or not?" The lawyer puts the papers in front of Jeff.He scribbled his name and ran out of the office in a huff.Louise's limousine and driver waited below.Jeff laughed to himself as he got into the car.What kind of anger did I get, after being a con artist all my life, it was the first time I tried to be honest, and people became suspicious of me instead.I'm almost like a pedantic old pedant. Louise takes Jeff to the finest tailor in Manhattan. "You would look very handsome in an evening dress," she said.Jeff is indeed more chic in his new clothes.Just a month after they got married, five of Louise's close friends tried to seduce the handsome newcomer, but Jeff ignored them.He was determined to live a good life with Louise. Louise's brother, Budgie Holland, applied for Jeff's membership in the New York Pilgrim Club.The club is very strict about the qualifications of its members.Jeff was accepted.Baji is a muscular middle-aged man.On the Harvard football team he got the nickname "The White Squeeze" because no one could squeeze him at right back.Budge owned a shipping company, a banana plantation, several cattle farms, a large meat processing complex, and so many others that Jeff lost count.Budgie Holland doesn't hide his disdain for Jeff Stevens. "You're not one of us, boy. But as long as you please Louise in bed. I like my sister." It took a lot of effort for Jeff to restrain himself.I married Louise, not this stupid pig. The rest of the Pilgrim Club are just as odious as Baji.They had lunch at the club every day, and they always begged Jeff to tell him about his vaudeville experience.They called Jeff's story a "sideshow anecdote," and Jeff kept making it more and more bizarre on purpose. Jeff and Louise lived in a twenty-room house with numerous servants on the East Side of Manhattan.Louise has properties in Long Island and the Bahamas, a villa in Sardinia and an apartment complex on Rue Forch in Paris.In addition to the schooner, Louise also owned several famous cars such as "Maserati", "Rosconig", "Lamborgony", and "Dan Le". Awesome, Jeff thought. Nice, Jeff thought. How boring, Jeff thought.Really depraved. One morning, he got up from his eighteenth-century four-poster couch, put on a Sharka dressing gown, and went to find Louise.He found her in the breakfast room. "I want to get a job," he said. "What are you looking for, dear? We don't need money." "It's not about the money. I can't just sit and eat. I have to work." Louise thought about it. "Okay, honey. I'll talk to Budge. He owns a brokerage firm. Would you like to be in the stock business?" "I just want to be bored, do whatever you want," Jeff muttered. Jeff went to Budge's company to work.He had never had a job that clocked in and out before.I'll enjoy this business, he thought. He hates this new job.He didn't resign, just to be able to bring back a salary and hand it over to his wife. "When are we going to have kids?" he asked Louise after a lazy Sunday breakfast. "Soon, dear. I'm working on it." "Go to bed. Try again." Jeff sat at the lunch table.This table was specially reserved for his brother-in-law and five or six other great entrepreneurs of the Pilgrim Club. Budji announced, "We just released our annual report for the combined meat processors, and folks, our profits are up forty percent." "What's so special about that?" an entrepreneur at the table said with a smile. "You stuffed the pockets of dog inspectors to the brim," he said to the other diners at the table. "Budge is a cunning fellow. He buys bad meat and has it sold as prime." Go, make a fortune." Jeff was horrified. "Jesus, meat is for people, and kids eat meat. Is he joking, Buggy?" Budge grinned and said, "Look, here's a moralist!" Over the next three months Jeff got to know the people he dined with.Ed Zela paid a million dollars in bribes to get permission to open a factory in Libya.The head of the conglomerate, Mike Quincy, speculated by buying companies and then illegally tipping his associates when they could buy or sell stocks.Alan Thompson, the richest of the diners, often boasted about the policies his company practiced. "Before they changed that damn law, we always fired the old guys from the company a year early so the old guys didn't get their pensions and I saved a ton of money." All these entrepreneurs falsified their taxes, defrauded insurance companies, falsified expenses, put the names of their latest mistresses on the employee rolls as secretaries or assistants. God, Jeff thought.They're just a bunch of well-dressed jugglers.They are all hosting scam gambling stalls. Their wives were no better.They took what they could, they were greedy, and they cheated on their husbands.Jeff was surprised to find that they were all playing the trick of "selling keys". He told Louise how he felt, and Louise smiled. "Don't be naive, Jeff. You've had a good time here, haven't you?" In fact he was not having a good time, and he married Louise because he believed that Louise needed him.Jeff thought that just having a baby would change their life. "We should have a boy and a girl. It's about time. We've been married for a year." "Babe, be patient. I checked with the doctor and he said I'm fine. Maybe you should check and see if there's anything wrong." Jeff went to the hospital. "You have no problem, you should be able to have a healthy child." The doctor said with confidence. But Louise was still not pregnant. On the Monday after Easter, a disaster struck Jeff's life.In the morning he went to Louise's medicine cabinet for aspirin.He found a whole shelf of birth control pills.One of the pill boxes was almost empty.Next to the medicine box was a small bottle of Baiyao noodles and a golden spoon.This is just the beginning of the disaster. At noon, Jeff sat in a high-backed armchair in the Pilgrim Club and waited for Baji.He suddenly heard two people talking behind him. "She swore her Italian singer's thing was ten inches long." The man giggled. "Louise always likes to be longer." They're talking about another Louise, Jeff told himself. "Maybe that's why she married that juggler in the first place. She told a lot of jokes about that guy. You wouldn't believe it, the day he..." Jeff stood up and rushed out of the clubhouse. He had never been this angry.He wanted to kill, to kill the unknown Italian, to kill Louise.How many men has she slept with in the past year?Those people have been laughing at him. Budge, Ed Zerra, Mike Quincy, Alan Thompson and their wives must have had a lot of fun, but he was made a laughingstock.Louise, whom he wanted to protect, joined them in laughing at him.Jeff's first thought was to pack up and leave.But doing so does not relieve hatred.He didn't want those dogs and men to take advantage of him for nothing. Louise wasn't home when Jeff came home that afternoon. "Mrs. is out this morning," said the butler, Pickens. "She has several appointments." Of course there's a date, Jeff thought.She slept with that Italian singer! When Louise returned, Jeff controlled himself very calmly. "How was your day?" Jeff asked. "No fun as usual. A trip to the beauty parlor, then a little shopping... How are you doing, dear?" "Very interesting," said Jeff. "Learned a lot." Which was true. "Badji said you did a great job." "Yes," said Jeff, "I'll be doing better soon." Louise stroked his hand. "It's my smart man. Let's go to bed early today, shall we?" "Not today," Jeff said, "I have a headache." He spent the next week figuring out a plan of action. While having lunch at the club, he began experimenting with his plans. "Do any of you know what 'computer crime' is all about?" Jeff asked. "What?" Ed Zerra asked. "Would you like to try it?" Everyone burst into laughter. "No, I'm not kidding," Jeff said. "It's a big problem right now. There are people who illegally get into computer systems and then steal huge sums of money from banks, insurance companies or other businesses. The amount can be in the billions. This crime is getting more and more rampant." "You seem to be very knowledgeable." Baji muttered. "I met a guy who had a computer that was theft-proof." "So you want to beat him." Mike Quincy teased him deliberately. "Actually, I'd love to raise some money to support him. I wonder if any of you know about computers." "No," Budge grinned, "but we know how to fund inventors. Right, guys?" There was another burst of laughter. Two days later at the club, Jeff walked past his usual dinner table and explained to Budge, "Sorry, I can't have dinner with you today. I have a guest over for lunch." After Jeff walked to another table, Alan Thompson said with a smile: "He probably wants to eat the bearded woman from the circus." A stooped gray-haired man walked into the dining room and was led to Jeff's table. "My God!" said Mike Quincy. "Isn't that Professor Aikman?" "Who is Professor Aikman?" "You never read anything but financial reports, don't you, Budge? Fannon Aikman was on the cover of Time last month. He's the chairman of the President's National Science Council, one of the best the scientist." "What has he got to do with my precious brother-in-law?" Jeff and the professor had been talking intently throughout the meal.Budge and his friends became more and more curious.After the professor left, Budge gestured to Jeff to his table. "Jeff, who was that man just now?" Jeff showed a guilty look. "Uh... You're asking about Fannon, right?" "Yes. What were you talking about?" "We... um..." One could see that Jeff was trying to avoid Budge's questioning. "I, I...er... going to write a book about the professor. He's an interesting character." "I didn't know you could write a book." "Well, no one is born with it!" Three days later Jeff had another guest over for lunch.This time Budge recognized the guest. “咦！那是西摩·杰里特，是杰里特国际计算机公司董事长。他找杰夫干什么？” 像上次一样，杰夫和他的客人津津有味地谈了很久。吃完午饭巴吉找到杰夫。 “杰夫老弟，你和西摩·杰里特打算做什么？” “没打算做什么，”杰夫赶忙说，“随便聊聊。”他想走开，被巴吉拦住了。 “别急着走呀，老弟。西摩·杰里特是个大忙人，他不会浪费这么长时间跟人闲聊天。” 杰夫一本正经地说：“好吧，我实话告诉你，巴吉。西摩爱集邮，我告诉他，我也许能帮他搞到一枚邮票。” 实话。鬼才相信！巴吉想。 下一个星期杰夫和查尔斯·巴特雷在俱乐部吃午餐。巴特雷是世界上最大的私人投资集团之一——“吉里特与巴特雷公司”的总经理。杰夫与他促膝密谈的时候，巴吉、艾德·泽拉、阿兰·汤普森和麦克·昆西惊异地在一旁观察。 “你妹夫最近老在跟大人物周旋，”泽拉说，“他在搞什么名堂呢，巴吉？” 巴吉气恼地说：“我不知道，不过我一定要问个究竟。如果杰里特和巴特雷感兴趣，那一定是大买卖。” 他们看见巴特雷站起来，兴冲冲地跟杰夫握手，然后离去了。当杰夫走过他们的餐桌时，巴吉抓住了他的胳臂。“坐一会儿，杰夫。我们想跟你谈谈。” “我要回办公室，”杰夫说，“我要……” “别忘了，你是我的雇员。坐下。” 杰夫坐下了。“跟你一道吃饭的是准？” 杰夫吞吞吐吐地说：“一个普通客人，我的老朋友。” “查尔斯·巴特雷是你的老朋友？” "you could put it that way." “刚才你和你的老朋友查尔斯谈了些什么，杰夫？” “唔……主要谈的是汽车。老查尔斯喜欢旧式汽车。我知道一辆1937年出品的四门敞篷式'派卡'车……” “胡扯！”巴吉打断他。“你既没有集邮，也没有卖车，更没有写什么狗屁书。你到底在干什么？” “没干什么。我……” “你在筹集资金想做什么事，对不对，杰夫？”艾德·泽拉问。 “没有！”不过他答得太快了一点。 巴吉用粗壮的胳膊挽着杰夫。“唉，老弟，我是你内兄，是一家人，对不对？”他搂了杰夫一下。“你和他们说的是你上星期说的那种防窃计算机，对不对？” 他们从杰夫脸上的表情看出，他的秘密被他们看破了。 “呃，是的。” 从这狗杂种嘴里探点消息简直比拔他的牙还难。“你怎么没告诉我们艾克曼教授也参与了这件事呢？” “我以为你们不感兴趣呢。” “那你可说错了。你需要资本，就应该来找你的朋友们。” “教授和我不需要资本，”杰夫说，“杰里特和巴特雷……” “他们都是鲨鱼，会把你活吞下去！”阿兰·汤普森嚷道。 艾德·泽拉接过话头说：“杰夫，跟朋友们打交道你吃不了亏。” “一切都已经安排好了，”杰夫对他们说。“查尔斯·巴特雷……” “你们签合同了吗？” “没有，不过我已经答应……” “那就等于什么也没安排。杰夫老弟，做生意的人每小时都可能改变主意。” “这件事我谈都不该跟你们谈。”杰夫说。“艾克曼教授的名字绝不能说出去。他受雇于一个政府部门。” “这我们知道。”汤普森宽解地说。“教授认为那种计算机行吗？” “哦，他完全有把握。” “艾克曼教授有把握的话，我们也有把握，对不对，伙计们？” 大家一致赞同。 “不过，我不懂科学。”杰夫说。“我不能作任何担保。说不定那玩意毫无价值呢。” “这我们都懂。不过，如果那玩意果真不错，生意能做到多大？” “巴吉，这种计算机的市场是世界性的，我简直无法估计销售的规模，每个人都会需要它。” “最初阶段你需要多少经费？” “两百万美元。不过第一笔一次付清的费用只需要二十五万。巴特雷答应……” “忘掉你的巴特雷吧。这笔钱算不了什么，由我们来出好啦。肥水不流外人田，是吧，伙计们？” "right!" 巴吉抬头打了个响指，一个侍者领班赶紧跑了过来。“多米尼克，给史蒂文斯先生拿纸和笔来。” 纸和笔立即拿来了。 “这笔小交易我们就在这儿办。” 巴吉对杰夫说。“你在纸上写下转让给我们的权益，我们签上字，明天早上就交给你一张二十五万元保付支票。怎么样？” 杰夫咬着下唇。“巴吉，我答应过巴特雷先生……” “让他见鬼去吧。”巴吉嚷道。“你娶的是他妹妹还是我妹妹？写！” 杰夫很不情愿地写道：“兹将本人对于SUCABA型计算机的一切权利、资格及利益转让给买方：唐纳德·巴吉·霍兰德、艾德·泽拉、阿兰·汤普森和麦克·昆西，转让费为二百万美元，签约时一次付清二十五万美元。SUCABA计算机经受过广泛的试验，价格低廉，质量可靠，所耗能源低于目前市场上任何一种计算机。SUCABA至少在十年内不须维修或更换部件。”杰夫写契约的时候他们都在旁边围观。 “老天！”艾德·泽拉说。“十年不用维修！市场上哪个牌子的计算机敢作这种保证！” 杰夫继续写道：“买方已被告知，范农·艾克曼教授和本人均无SUCABA的专利……” “我们来想办法，”阿兰·汤普森不耐烦地插嘴说，“我雇了一个极能干的专利律师。” 杰夫又写：“本人已向买方申明，SUCABA计算机也可能毫无价值；除了本契约所列项目，范农·艾克曼教授和本人未作其他任何担保。”杰夫签了字，将契约举了起来。“满意吗？” “肯定十年不用维修吗？”巴吉问。 “绝对肯定。我把契约复制一份。”杰夫说。大家看着杰夫将他写的契约小心地复制了一份。 巴吉从杰夫手里抢过契约，签了字。泽拉、昆西、汤普森也都签了名。 巴吉喜形于色。“我们一份，你留一份。老西摩·杰里特和查尔斯·巴特雷要吃一回哑巴亏了。真想让他们早点知道，他们到手的生意被人抢跑了。” 第二天早晨巴吉交给杰夫一张二十五万元的保付支票。 “计算机在哪儿？”巴吉问。 “我让人今天中午送到俱乐部来。我想交货的时候最好大家都在场。” 巴吉拍拍他的肩膀。“杰夫，你脑子挺灵的。中午见。” 中午十二点正，一名听差拿着一个盒子来到朝圣者俱乐部的餐厅，被带到巴吉的餐桌前。在座的还有泽拉、汤普森和昆西。 “送来了！”巴吉喊道。“老天！这玩意还真轻便！” “咱们等杰夫来吗？”汤普森问。 “等个屁！这东西已经属于咱们啦。” 巴吉扯开盒子外的包装纸。盒子里铺着稻草。他小心地、几乎是虔诚地捧出稻草里的物件。人们坐在那里，看得目瞪口呆。那是个四方形框架，大约一英尺见方，框架上安着一排串着珠子的横杆。很久都没人说话。 “这是什么？”昆西终于问道。 阿兰·汤普森说：“这是一把算盘。东方人曾经用这玩意进行计算……”他脸上的表情忽然变了样。“天哪！SUCABA倒过来就是'算盘'（英文的'算盘'是abacue）呀！”他转身对巴吉说：“这是开玩笑吧？” 泽拉气呼呼地说：“价格低廉，质量可靠，所耗能源低于目前市场上任何一种计算机……赶快撤回那张支票！” 大家不约而同地奔向电话机。 “您那张保付支票吗？”簿记主任说，“用不着担心，史蒂文斯先生今天早晨已经凭它提走了现款。” 管家皮肯斯说：“很对不起，史蒂文斯先生已经打点行装离开了这里。他说要作一次长途旅行。” 那天下午，气得几乎发疯的巴吉总算接通了范农·艾克曼的电话。 “当然。杰夫·史蒂文斯，那人很不错。你说他是你的妹夫吗？” “教授，你和杰夫谈了些什么？” “我们的谈话没什么秘密。杰夫想写一本关于我的书。他告诉我，人们很想了解在日常生活中科学家们是怎样的人……” 西摩·杰里特说话很谨慎。“你为什么要了解我和史蒂文斯先生谈话的内容呢？你也是集邮爱好者吗？” "No, I..." “那你就别瞎打听了。那种邮票现在只剩下一枚。史蒂文斯说他搞到之后一定卖给我。”说完他咔地挂断了电话。 查尔斯·巴特雷还没开口，巴吉就猜到他要说什么。 “杰夫·史蒂文斯？哦，是的。我收藏旧车。杰夫知道有一辆挺好的四门敞篷车，1937年出厂，'派卡牌'……” 这回是巴吉先挂断了电话。 “别着急，”巴吉对他的伙伴们说，“我们定能把钱要回来，然后把那个狗杂种送进监狱，关他一辈子。诈骗是要受到法律惩罚的。” 这伙人来到司各特·弗戈提的办公室。 “他从我们手里骗走了二十五万美元，”巴吉对律师说，“我要让他下半辈子都蹲在牢里。去搞一个逮捕证……” “你们的契约书带来了吗，巴吉？” “在这儿。”他把杰夫写的契约递给弗戈提。 律师匆匆浏览了一遍，又从头细细地审阅起来。“他伪造了你们的签名吗？” “没有，”麦克·昆西说，“我们自己签的。” “签字以前你们把契约看过一遍吗？” 艾德·泽拉气愤地说：“当然看过，你以为我们都是傻瓜吗？” “先生们，我想让你们自己来断一下这个案子。你们签署了一纸契约，契约上说，你们已被告知，你们一次付清二十五万美元购得的这个物件既无获得专利权，还可能毫无价值。用我的一位老教授的法律术语来说，'你们被堂而皇之地欺骗了'。” 杰夫在里诺办了离婚手续。他在找住处的时候碰到了康拉德·摩根。 摩根曾在威利大叔手下工作过。“给我帮个小忙行吗，杰夫？” 康拉德·摩根说，“一个年轻女子要乘火车从纽约去圣路易斯，她带着一些首饰……” 杰夫从飞机舷窗向外眺望，心里想着特蕾西。他脸上露出了笑容。 回到纽约，特蕾西的第一个目标就是去康拉德·摩根珠宝行。摩根把特蕾西娅迎进办公室，关上门。他不住地搓着手，说：“我正在担心呢，亲爱的。我在圣路易斯车站等你，可是……” “你没去圣路易斯。” “什么？你这是什么意思？”他的蓝眼睛似乎在闪着光。 “我的意思是，你没去圣路易斯。你根本就没打算再跟我见面。” “我当然要跟你会面！你拿到了珠宝，我……” “你派了两个人来劫走我的珠宝。” 摩根显出迷惑不解的表情。“我不懂你在说些什么。” “起先我以为你的人走漏了风声，可是并不是这么回事，对不对？所以走漏风声的定是你。你告诉我，你亲自给我准备的车票，因此只有你一个人知道我住几号包厢。我使用的是假名字，假身份，你派去的人却毫不费力就找到了我。” 他的胖脸上露出惊异的模样。“你是不是在说，有人抢走了你的珠宝？” 特蕾西笑了。“我要告诉你，他们没抢到。” 这回摩根脸上的惊讶表情不是装出来的了。“你拿着珠宝吗？” “是的。你的朋友们急着上飞机，把珠宝忘掉了。” 摩根端详了特蕾西一阵。 "Sorry." 他从一扇便门走了出去。特蕾西心安理得地坐在长沙发上。 康拉德·摩根离开了将近十五分钟。回来的时候，他显得十分沮丧。“恐怕是发生了误会，是一个严重的误会。你非常聪明，惠特尼小姐。你挣到了两万五千美元。”他赞许地笑着。“把首饰交给我……” “我要五万美元。” "What did you say?" “我不得不多偷了一次。一共五万美元，摩根先生。” “不行。”他断然拒绝说。他眼睛里的光芒也消失了。“我不能给你那么多钱。” Tracy stood up. “很好。我要去拉斯维加斯找一个愿意出这个价钱的主顾。”她朝门口走去。 “你要五万？”康拉德·摩根问。 Tracy nodded. “珠宝在哪儿？” “在佩恩车站的一个行李柜里。等你付了款——要现钱——让我坐上出租汽车，我就把钥匙交给你。” 康拉德·摩根无可奈何地叹了口气。“就这么办吧。” “谢谢，”特蕾西乐滋滋地说，“很高兴能跟你合作。”