Сидней Баундс - The Robot Brains [with w_cat]

202 He put the gun under his pillow and went out. He went to the Cross Keys, a fine of old pub where he and Miller had agreed to meet.

- 13 -

203 When the captain came up to the old pub, he saw Miller's car standing at the entrance. It was late, and the door was locked. He went round the house to the back door which had been left open for him, and entered the house. It was dark and still inside. A light burned somewhere above.

204 He began climbing the stairs. Then, suddenly, breaking the silence of the house, came a gunshot. Christian jumped forward, to the top of the stairs. He found himself in a short corridor with a door at the end. The door was a little open, and light was coming from inside.

205 He ran to the door and went in. Miller lay on the carpet. On his shirt there was blood. An automatic gun lay beside him, and there was no one else in the room.

206 Christian bent over Miller. The man was dead. He looked at the gun... it was very much like his own. He took it to read the number - and did not believe his eyes: it was his own gun.

207 Christian stared at the gun and then at Miller. He could not understand it. He knew that he had left his gun -

208 The door behind him closed softly and a key turned on the outside. Christian jumped to the door and pulled it, but in vain. He was locked in.

209 By now the old pub was coming to life. He heard movement and voices and steps in the corridor.

210 Someone knocked on the door and shouted: "Mister Miller, are you all right?"

211 Christian answered: "Open this door - Miller is dead, and his murderer is running away!"

212 There was a pause; then the key turned and the door opened. The red-faced owner of the pub stood there with a heavy stick in his hand. He was looking at Christian who was still holding the gun, and at Miller's body.

213 "Let me go out," said Christian.

214 "Not so fast - you will have to explain something"

215 "Listen, I was working with Miller. He was waiting for me. Someone shot him and-"

216 "Maybe," said the red-faced man. He stepped back, quickly closed the door and locked it again. "You will stay here till I bring the police," he said.

217 For the first time Christian realized his own position. He had been found, alone, in a looked room, with a dead man, holding the gun - his own gun. It would be difficult to convince the police that he was not the murderer.

218 And how had his gun got here from the trailer?

219 But now, Christian understood, there was no time for thinking about that. He opened the window. Looking down, he saw Miller's car.

220 He jumped out of the window, ran to the car and got in. The red-faced owner of the pub came out, shouting and waving his stick. Christian started the car and drove away at full speed.

- 14 -

221 He drove back to the Fair. He was determined to find the Brains and speak to them. Instinct told him they were responsible; they knew, that Miller had been watching them, and so they killed him. And they killed Miller with Christian's gun because they wanted to take revenge on him: they had not forgotten that he had interfered when they were speaking with Jo.

222 When he came to the Fair, he parked the car and got out of it. It was dark. Only one light was seen in the distance - it came from the Brains' trailer. Christian walked towards it.

223 The door was locked. The captain took a piece of wire out of his pocket, worked with it a little, and the door opened. The captain stepped in, holding his gun ready.

224 He stopped, disappointed. The trailer was empty.

225 Christian looked angrily around. Where were the Brains now? He could not wait for them. He was sure that the owner of the Cross Keys had raised an alarm and the police were looking for him. And the first place where they would come would be the Fair.

226 He had to get away before the police came. It was absolutely necessary for him to remain in freedom until he could prove his innocence. There was nothing else to do, Christian decided: he must disappear.

He went quickly and silently to his own trailer and packed his bag. He looked under the pillow where he had left his gun: as he expected, there was nothing there. There was no doubt that the Brains had framed him for Miller's murder.

He was thinking where to go. He could not go to his yacht: he was sure that the police would visit it. He could not go to Fox - the police knew that they were friends, so, of course, they would come to Fox's place, too. He had friends who would be ready to hide him, but he wanted to remain near the Fair - that was his only chance to get at the Brains. And the Fair was leaving for Cambridge in the morning - Burkholder had decided to find a new place for it after the visit of Military Intelligence.

So Christian decided to go to Cambridge and hide there, waiting for his chance.

He took his bag and left his trailer. He went to the kitchen. There he took an empty bag and put into it some foodstuffs which he could find. Putting the bag on his shoulder, he left the kitchen.

The police knew the number of Miller's car, so he could not use it. He walked quickly along the path. In the bright light of the moon he saw a workman's bicycle near the fence. Without hesitation he got on it and, leaving the Fair, rode off in the direction of Cambridge.

He travelled the whole night, and with the first light of day he decided to stop and find a place to hide. He stopped at a deserted crossroads and looked around. Through the trees growing along the road he saw a field and a river in the distance. Near the river he noticed the ruins of a deserted boat-house.

He lifted his stolen bicycle on his shoulder and crossed the field to the river. He approached the ruins of the boathouse. Tall grass growing around the door showed that nobody was using the house.

He opened the door and frightened away a rat, which quickly ran into the darkness. He saw a flight of stairs which led to a loft, and he climbed up carrying the bicycle with him. He found himself in a small room with a little window, which gave him a clear view of the approaches to the house. So if some people were coming to the house, he would see them.

Christian was satisfied. He sat down on the floor and ate some cold bacon and bread and cheese. The whole morning he was looking out of the window, but saw nobody. In the afternoon he slept a few hours.

When night fell, he set off again, and in the morning he was near Cambridge.

On the wall of a newspaper stall there was a newspaper. Christian stopped his bicycle and looked through the front page. There was a photograph of him and a text under it:

The police are looking for Captain Arthur Christian to interview him in connection with the shooting at Reading.

Christian is tall, blond, blue-eyed, with a short beard.

He is armed. The police think he may be near Cambridge.

Christian was alarmed. He decided that he must find a hiding-place at once. He could not remain in the streets during the day.

227 He rode on again. Soon he saw a large poster:

BURKHOLDER'S FAIR

228 There was a picture of the Brains and a text in red letters:

Five pounds will be given to anyone who asks a question which the Brains cannot answer.

Below the poster gave the address of the place where the Fair was located.

Christian looked around. There was a long, partly broken fence along one side of the street. Behind the fence he saw a garden and an old shed. The garden was grown with weeds, and it was clear that it was not used. Christian looked around again to make sure that nobody saw him, then took his bicycle and got into the garden through a crack in the fence.

There was a lock on the door of the shed, but Christian easily broke it and got inside. He sat down on the floor and ate some food, which still remained, in his bag.

During the day he slept. In the evening, when it was dark, he left the shed and rode to the place where the Burkholder Fair was located.

- 15 -

229 Jo came out of the kitchen after a late supper and walked towards her trailer. There was no moon, and the stars were covered with clouds. There was nobody around.

230 Then she heard a soft voice: "Jo."

231 She recognized Christian's voice and stopped.

232 "It is not safe for you here," she said in a whisper. "The whole area is watched by plain-clothes men."

Christian smiled.

233 "I know." He looked down at the dwarf-woman. "Jo, I didn't kill Miller."

234 "Of course, you didn't," she said quickly. "I never believed that for a moment. Tell me how I can help. Doctor Fox was here this morning I know where he is now. But the police are watching him."

235 Christian pointed to a light, which was coming from one of the trailers.

236 "Are the Brains at home?"

237 "I think they are," she answered. "What are you going to do?"

238 "I am going to speak to them," he said. "I am sure that they murdered Miller"

239 "Be careful, Sailor!"

240 Christian pressed her hand.

241 "Don't go near the Brains," he said. He turned and walked to the Brains' trailer.

242 He noiselessly approached the door of the trailer, put his piece of wire into the lock and opened the door.

243 And again - he saw nobody!

244 Christian stepped inside and locked the door after himself. He sat down, looking at the door and holding his automatic gun ready. This time he was going to wait till the Brains returned.

245 Minutes passed. Christian thought about Fox and Jo: they both believed in him and were ready to help. It was good indeed to have such good friends. Then he thought about the Brains. Maybe now, just at this moment, they were murdering another man, and soon they would return with their murder weapon..

246 He didn't notice how his eyes closed. He heard some movement and opened his eyes. The Brains were standing before him - but he was sure that the door had not opened. For a long moment the Brains and Christian looked at each other.