Chapter 24 fifth scene

Early in the morning, Inspector Sam drove a black car and Peary arrived at Hamlet Heights. He explained that the Hatters thought that Peary would be interrogated all day, and then drove away immediately. Now that Ren is in his own territory, he is very familiar with the surrounding plants and trees, so he appears calm.He wandered about the estate with his governess, chatting cheerfully about his theatre, his books, his garden--everything but the Hatters.Infected by the surprisingly beautiful environment around him, Peary became cheerful.He took a deep breath of the wine-like air, stepped into the Mermaid Tavern, which was valued by history, his eyes were brightened, and devoutly inspected a first folio Shakespeare set in a glass case in a wide and quiet library-completely forgetting himself, It was like a different person.

Ryan led him around peacefully.His eyes are focused on this person's expression, posture and every gesture every minute.He studied the shape of Peary's mouth and the way he opened and closed his mouth, his posture, the way he walked, the details of every movement.At lunch, he watched Peary's eating habits.Quesy followed suit, poring over the tutor's head like a deformed little vulture.In the middle of the afternoon, Quasi talked excitedly to himself all the way, and then disappeared. In the afternoon they continued their wanderings about the vast estate; but Wren began to deftly turn the conversation on Peary.Before long the conversation became very personal.Wren digs into the man's tastes, prejudices, ideas, and the focus and essence of Barbara Hitter's intellectual acquaintance, the relationship with other members of the Hatter family, the teaching content of the two children, and so on.During this time Peary came alive again, telling him where to find books, his individual teaching methods with little boys, and his daily routine at the Hatters.

After dinner in the evening, the two gentlemen went to Quasi's small laboratory.It was an eerie place, Peary had never seen a place like it before.Although it has modern equipment inside, it exudes an ancient atmosphere and looks like a torture room in the middle ages.On one of the walls was a row of shelves on which stood rows of human heads--of all races and shapes--Mongolian, Caucasian, Negro--of every face and expression; wigs-- — grey, black, brown, red, fuzzy, crooked, straight, dry, oily, curly — hung on several walls.A bewildering array of paints, powders, face creams, hair dyes, glues, and small metal utensils sat on the workbench.A machine like a sewing machine, a large multi-faceted mirror, a huge bright light, and a black screen, etc... From the moment he stepped on the threshold, Peary's liveliness disappeared, and the old fears and emotions disappeared. Hesitation returned to his face.The laboratory seemed to make him depressed, and when he was brought back to the real world, he suddenly became taciturn and bewildered.Renton watched him anxiously, and Piri looked around uneasily, and his long and weird projection on the wall followed step by step.

"Mr. Peary, please undress," said Quisy's voice, busy putting the finishing touches on a realistic wig on a wooden cast. Piri obeyed silently and slowly, Ren quickly took off his clothes and put on Piri's underwear, which fit perfectly, and their physiques matched exactly. Peary wrapped himself in a dressing gown, trembling. Kuixi was busy.Luckily, not much of the face needs makeup.Ryan sat on a strange-looking chair in front of the mirror, and the old hunchback worked.His gnarled fingers seemed to receive amazing wisdom in an instant. He only needed to make minor adjustments to Rain's nose and eyebrows. Also dyed.

Peary watched silently, a decisive brilliance sprouted in his eyes. Kuisi instructed Peary to sit on the stool energetically. He studied Peary's hairline and head shape, adjusted the wig on Ren's head, and took out the scissors... In less than two hours, you're done.Mr. Jerry Lane stood up, and Peary stared in horror.He was facing a strange, unthinkable experience facing himself face to face.Ren spoke, and Peary's voice came out of his mouth—the exact same mouth shape... "Oh, God!" cried Peary suddenly, his face contorted and red. "No! No. Oh! I won't let you!"

The mask disintegrated, and Ren reappeared, with a look of vigilance in his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly. "You look so similar! This disguise is too...I don't agree, I tell you!" Peary slumped on the stool, his shoulders trembling, "I—Barbara...deceiving her like this is too..." "Do you think I might give up?" Ren's eyes were full of pity. "Yes, yes, she will understand that I was forced...but in this way. No!" The tutor jumped off the ground and raised his chin. "If you pretend to be me, Mr. Wren, I will be forced to sue Violence. I forbid you to deceive that woman,"—he paused, looking sad—"the woman I love. Give me back my clothes, please."

He tore off his dressing gown and took a step towards Ren, his eyes full of resistance and determination.Kuisi, who had been watching from the side with gaping tongue, screamed, grabbed a pair of large scissors on the workbench, and jumped forward like a monkey. Ren stepped aside and patted him gently on the shoulder: "No, Kuisi...you are right, Mr. Peary, absolutely right, you are my guest tonight, okay?" Peary stuttered: "I'm sorry—I didn't mean to... threaten you..." "My values ​​have been blinded," Ryan said calmly, "unless we let Miss Hatter participate in this secret... No, it's better like this, Quasi, don't stare at people like this." He took a lot of effort to remove it. Wig, put it in the gaping old hunchback's hand, "Save this as a warning to my folly, and to commemorate this gentleman's gallantry..." Then, as Peary watched, Wren transformed one person.The actor dressed up solemnly, blinked twice, and then smiled, "Would you like to visit my theater, Mr. Peary? Koroputkin is giving a preview of our new play."

After Peary got dressed and was led by Falstaff to Wren's theater, Mr. Actor immediately removed his carefree mask: "Quick, Quesy! Call Inspector Sam!" Kuisy, who was alerted, strode towards the wall, grabbed a phone with his bony fingers, and Ren walked up and down impatiently behind him: "Hurry up, old man, hurry up, there is no time." The Inspector could not be found, he was not at Police Headquarters. "Try his house." The inspector's wife answered the phone.Kuisi screamed urgently, but the kind wife hesitated... It seemed that the inspector was snoring in the easy chair, and she couldn't bear to wake him up.

"But this is Mr. Wren's call!" Kuisi yelled desperately, "It's very important!" "Oh!" The voice that stimulated Quasi's old ears like a drum stopped suddenly, and after a while, Sam's familiar growl came from the other end of the line. "Ask if his men have already evacuated Heite Mansion!" Kuisi repeated the words and listened for the echo. "He said not yet, they will leave as soon as you arrive tonight." "All right! Tell the inspector I've changed my mind. No more pretending to be Peary. His men must stay at the mansion until tomorrow, and when I arrive before noon they'll leave immediately."

Sam's questioning roar sent the phone buzzing. "He wanted to know why, he said, he said he wanted to know what the hell was going on," returned the old hunchback. "It's inconvenient to explain now. Say hello to the inspector for me. Then hang up immediately." Mr. Jerry Lane, who had completely forgotten that he was pacing up and down the room in his sports underwear, gesticulated and yelled at the old man: "Call Dr. Miriam's now! You can call in New York City Find his number in the book." Kuisi licked her bamboo-like thumb, and began to flip through the phone book, "M...M... Y. Miriam, doctor, is this it?"

"Yes, hurry up!" Quesy dialed the number.After a while, a female voice answered the phone. "Dr. Miriam, please," he said harshly. "This is Mr. Jerry Lane." After hearing the high-pitched answer from the other party, his brown and wrinkled face was filled with disappointment, "He's not at home," she said, "out of town this afternoon for the weekend." "Ah," replied Mr. Jerry Lane calmly, "Weekend, eh? Maybe that's all right... Hang up, Caliban, hang up, it's getting complicated, with the lady Thank you and hang up." "What should we do now?" Kuaixi stared at his master and asked with displeasure. "I really think," replied Mr. Jerry Lane, with a meaningful smile, "that I have a better idea."