英文中文
The Fifth Day
In an old house in a quiet road a woman waited. She waited day and night, and did not sleep. At nine o'clock in the evening of the fifth day, she heard a noise at the window at the back of the house.Quickly, she ran and opened the window. A minute later she was in Alex's arms. They did not speak for a long time.
Then they talked quietly about their friends and their family. 'The children are with my sister,' Olivia said. 'It's better for them there. But I came here to Rudi's house. Rudi's away, and Pauli told me this was the best place to wait. I wanted to see you before you leave the country. Oh Alex, I'm so afraid for you.'
'Yes, escape is going to be difficult,' Alex said. 'I talked to Pauli on the phone. The police...'
'Yes, but you escaped from prison,' Olivia said quickly. 'You have a lot of friends. Perhaps Pauli can help you. Or...'
'Perhaps. I've got some good friends. I know that. But I've got a lot of enemies too,' Alex said slowly. 'Very dangerous enemies.'
Suddenly Olivia saw his hands. 'Your hands! Oh Alex, what happened to your hands?'
Alex looked down at them. 'It happened in prison,' he said slowly. 'They did it with a knife... and cigarettes.'
'But why?' Olivia whispered. 'Why did they do that?'
'They wanted a name, but I didn't tell them.'
'What name?'
'The name of the President's murderer.'
'But they say you killed him...' Olivia began.
'Yes, but I did not kill the President. And the police know that.'
'So they put you in prison,' Olivia said, 'because they needed a murderer.'
'Yes. And because of my book about the old President, and the government of this country. It was a very angry book. Do you remember?' Alex smiled. 'But the old President read it, and liked it. He wasn't a bad man, and he wanted a better life for the people. He wanted to change things in this country, but he couldn't. The police and the army stopped him. And the new President, of course, is a good friend of the police and the army. A very good friend.' Alex laughed angrily. 'You see, Olivia, the police know the murderer's name, but it's a secret. They don't want people in this country to know the name. And so they were angry with me in prison, because they think that I know the murderer's name.'
Olivia's face was afraid. 'Do... Do you know?' she whispered.
'Yes,' Alex looked at his wife's white, unhappy face. 'But I'm not going to tell you,' he said quietly. 'It's a very... dangerous name.'
Alex ate some food and changed his clothes. Then he slept, and Olivia watched the road through the windows.
* * *
In his office Felix waited for more news. He waited, and he thought—about his job, about the dead President and the new President, about the old woman Marta, about Eva Hine, the Chief of Police—and about Alex Dinon.
At 9.05 p. m. the telephone rang on Felix's desk. He listened, then quickly jumped to his feet and called to Adam. 'Dinon's in his home town,' he shouted. 'He's in his old teacher's house. He went in three minutes ago.'
Adam laughed. 'We've got him now,' he said happily.
'Listen,' Felix said quickly. 'Take ten more men with you and drive down to Dinon's town at once. Wait near the house and watch, but don't go in. I'm going to phone the Chief now, and then follow you.'
'Right,' Adam said, and quickly left the room.
Felix phoned the Chief and told her the news.
'Good,' the Chief said. 'Now wait there. I want to speak to you again in ten minutes.'
Felix waited angrily. He wanted to leave at once. He wanted to talk to Alex Dinon. Perhaps Dinon knew the answers to Felix's questions. The phone rang and Felix picked it up quickly.
'Now listen, Inspector. Don't go into the house. Wait in the road and watch.'
'But we can go into the house and get him!' Felix said. 'Why not?'
'No, that's dangerous. Perhaps his wife and children are in the house.'
'But his children are with his wife's sister. We know that,' Felix said. 'So...'
'LISTEN TO ME, INSPECTOR! '
Felix did not answer.
'Are you listening to me, Inspector?'
'Yes, Chief,' Felix said quietly.
'Now, Dinon can't stay in the house. He's going to come out later in the night, when the streets are quiet. He can't escape. The soldiers—'
'Soldiers? What soldiers?' Felix said angrily. ' I don't need the army!'
'This man Dinon is very, very important, Inspector. You need help, and the army is going to help you. They're putting three hundred men in all the roads near the house. I want Dinon tonight, Inspector!'
The Chief put the phone down, and Felix stared at his desk. 'Alive... or dead?' he thought. 'Which does she—and our new President—want? I think I know the answer. They want him dead. And I want to know why!'
The police car took Felix to Dinon's home town, an hour away, and Felix found Adam in a quiet street behind the house. They sat in Adam's car and talked.
Adam looked at Felix's face. 'What are you angry about?' he asked. 'Dinon's in the house. And he can't escape now. When he comes out—Wham! We've got him!'
'I'm angry,' Felix said, 'because half the army with its guns is in this town tonight. I wanted to go into the house, but I can't because the Chief said "no", and the soldiers are watching the house. But I wanted to get to Dinon first.'
'That's going to be difficult,' Adam said. 'Soldiers shoot first, and ask questions later.'
'Yes,' Felix said slowly. 'They're going to kill Alex Dinon, and I can't stop them.'
