Page 132 - the-thirty-nine-steps

emies knew that I had got my knowledge from Scudder, and
it was Scudder who had given me the clue to this place. If
they knew that Scudder had this clue, would they not be
certain to change their plans? Too much depended on their
success for them to take any risks. The whole question was
how much they understood about Scudder’s knowledge. I
had talked confidently last night about Germans always
sticking to a scheme, but if they had any suspicions that I
was on their track they would be fools not to cover it. I won-
dered if the man last night had seen that I recognized him.
Somehow I did not think he had, and to that I had clung.
But the whole business had never seemed so difficult as that
afternoon when by all calculations I should have been re-
joicing in assured success.
In the hotel I met the commander of the destroyer, to
whom Scaife introduced me, and with whom I had a few
words. Then I thought I would put in an hour or two watch-
ing Trafalgar Lodge.
I found a place farther up the hill, in the garden of an
empty house. From there I had a full view of the court, on
which two figures were having a game of tennis. One was the
old man, whom I had already seen; the other was a young-
er fellow, wearing some club colours in the scarf round his
middle. They played with tremendous zest, like two city
gents who wanted hard exercise to open their pores. You
couldn’t conceive a more innocent spectacle. They shouted
and laughed and stopped for drinks, when a maid brought
out two tankards on a salver. I rubbed my eyes and asked
myself if I was not the most immortal fool on earth. Mys-

132 The Thirty-Nine Steps