The Spanish Hawk (1969) by Pattinson James

Author:Pattinson, James [Pattinson, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action/Adventure
Published: 1969-09-28T23:00:00+00:00

It was a large rambling old house somewhere in the hill country on the northern side of the island. To get to it they had to leave the tarred highway and take to some roads that were even worse than the one between Jamestown and Port Morgan; really rough, with some pretty steep gradients and hairpin bends that called for no little skill on the part of the driver. Picked out by the headlights of the Ford, some of the going looked hazardous indeed, and Fletcher decided that he himself would have preferred to make the drive in daylight.

He was relieved when they reached the end of the journey and Leonora brought the car to a halt in front of the house. There seemed to be no lack of lights around the place, and he concluded that a generator was working somewhere, since it was in far too isolated a situation to get its electricity in any other way. They got out of the car and climbed some wide stone steps to a spacious terrace of the same material. From the terrace they went into the house, which at first glance seemed to be an expanse of polished wood floors and heavy furniture that could well have been there from the time when the building had been completed.

The man who greeted them appeared to be about fifty; his hair was greying and his skin was tan rather than black. He was of medium height, lean and rather handsome, elegantly dressed, and with a keenly intelligent look about him. Fletcher had the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before, but he could not remember where or when.

“Well, Mr. Fletcher,” the man said, “I’m very glad you were able to come.”

“I didn’t have much choice,” Fletcher said.

“No? You will have to tell me about that. However, the main thing is that you are here.” He held out his hand and it would have seemed ridiculous as well as rude to refuse it. The grip was firm but not prolonged. “My name is Conrad Denning.”

Fletcher knew then why he had had that impression of having seen the man before. Different though the two might be in physique and many other ways, there was nevertheless a certain unmistakable facial resemblance between Mr. Denning and President Clayton Rodgers. And this was really not so very surprising, since Denning and Rodgers happened to be cousins.

“Mr. Fletcher,” Denning said, “you are welcome to my house, very welcome indeed.”

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