Saint and the People Importers by Leslie Charteris

Author:Leslie Charteris [Charteris, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780860091936
Publisher: Magna Print Books
Published: 1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

4

HOW CAPTAIN FOWLER WAS

DISPLEASED, AND ABDUL

HAROON'S HOSPITALITY WAS

IMPOSED ON

The Saint shot his blond fellow-prisoner a silencing look and neither of them said anything. Above the sound of his own controlled breath, Simon listened for any clue that his ears might draw from the commonplace sounds outside the walls. Presumably the new arrival would be the co-conspirator referred to by Kalki as "Captain Fowler": if so, Simon thought with the ridiculous optimism that would never allow him to take disaster as seriously as he should, a temporary setback could already have brought them miraculously close to what after all had been their goal from the beginning.

"What . . ." Tammy began, but the Saint stopped her with a shake of his head.

He listened intently. The car sounded heavy, and its engine had a smooth expensive quietness, before it was switched off. A single door of the automobile opened and slammed hurriedly. The footsteps that spurned the gravel had a purposive male rhythm. There was no knock at the boathouse door, which opened, closed, and set off a babble of excited voices over which there suddenly rose a single incredulous infuriated shout:

"Here?"

The voice which uttered the almost despairing cry had a tantalisingly familiar tone, but Simon had no immediate chance to hear any more of it. The single word, like a lion trying to hurl itself out of a trap, was instantly smothered in a net of appeals and explanations. Although few other words were distinguishable, the tones and tempo failed somewhat to suggest a gathering of happy souls in harmonious relaxation.

Then the communicating door was flung open, and Captain Fowler himself strode in, with his cohorts crowding behind him.

It could have been nobody else. For he was the talkative Empire-builder whom Simon had met before dinner at the Golden Crescent, and the semi-familiarity of a voice which had puzzled the Saint a moment ago was explained.

"Well, well, well!" murmured the Saint. "What a surprise. But I suppose it shouldn't be, really. In most of the detective stories I've read, it's the most innocent-looking character who turns out to be the criminal mastermind. Only they usually don't unmask him until the very end."

"Dammit!" said Fowler. "What makes you think this isn't the end?"

His sandy hair was swept back as if by a recent typhoon, and his face was redder than ever. He had come to a halt a few feet in front of the Saint and Tammy, peering at them as if he had not really believed they could be there until he had seen them for himself. He clamped his jaws together and breathed noisily. Kalki came up beside him while Mahmud and Shortwave hovered in the comfortable obscurity of the background.

"For them, it must be," Kalki said.

"Thanks to a lot of stupid blundering," Fowler agreed angrily. He turned back to the Saint "Why did you have to get yourself into this, Templar? Who was bothering you?"

"I might ask you the same question," Simon countered. "Why aren't you off ruling the

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