Mr. Arkadin Page #6

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never, never to give information...

even about people who are dead.

I mustn't get a reputation for being indiscreet,

now, must I? Especially in my profession.

No, what you are buying is a telescope.

Oh, fine. Looks as if I'm also

buying an aquarium.

But if Sophie's dead,

I can't see what difference it could-

- Dead? Who said she's dead?

- Well, nobody says she's alive.

I seem to remember she got away from

the police when they broke up the gang.

The gang? Well, come on, Mr. Trebitsch.

What did the gang do?

White slavery?

Warsaw was the center of that, my dear,

before the last war.

Oh, my poor baby,

you don't know a thing.

Why, half the flesh that was run into South America

from Central and Eastern Europe...

came right through Warsaw.

- Wait. I've got something for you.

- No, I don't want to buy anything else!

- You will buy this one. It's an idea.

- Well?

- Those young girls -

- What girls?

The girls I spoke of

that acted as special police agents.

Well, it just happened, my dear,

that one of them turned up here during the war.

- During the occupation.

- What's her name?

Oh, come on, Mr. Trebitsch.

I'm paying you for this.

She was quite a heroine

of the resistance movement...

connected, one imagines,

with the - British.

Once spent the night here

in my little shop in '42.

We -Ah, we got to talking

about Warsaw.

You know what we Poles are. Well,

the baroness could tell you all about Sophie.

Well, fine, Mr. Trebitsch.

Where is this baroness?

- The Baroness Nagel.

- Okay, but where does she live?

And here is the telescope.

- You see, I believe in giving value.

- Value? This thing doesn't even have a lens.

Well, what can you expect

for 200 guilder?

Two -Two hundred?

Well, you can always find a lens.

Ah! Gustie!

Danny! Mittagessen.

Ah, if you can pay me in dollars,

I can offer you a very good rate.

- Oh, guilder.

- What -

Of course, there will be

the usual charge for breakages.

- Breakages?

- Oh, my beaded curtain I can perhaps re-string.

And I may be able to mend up

my alligator, but...

you've absolutely ruined

the pretty aquarium, my dear.

Well, you remember the name -

Nagel, huh?

N-A-G-E-L. Nagel.

Nagel. Is that all I'm getting?

The Baroness Nagel, hmm?

- B-A-R-

- I can spell "baroness"!

Now, you just tell me

where I can find her.

My dear, I swear to you

on my heart...

I haven't the remotest idea

where the baroness is...

or what happened to her.

Baroness von Nagel.

Nagel? The Baroness Nagel?

Oh, she wouldn't have gone back to Poland.

Not the way things are now.

Try London.

Nagel? Yes. She was decorated by our

people and the French. Wonderful girl.

Nagel? I think she's working in Paris.

She's at one of the big dress houses.

Dior, I think. She's a vendeuse.

- A what?

- A saleswoman.

Good. I got something I want to buy.

Well, she lives here.

Of course. I remember you.

You are the gentleman

who was here the other day.

Well, I'm sorry, monsieur, but the baroness

won't be in till late tonight.

She has a dinner appointment.

Oh, thank you, monsieur.

I think it might be with the gentleman

who brought her the beautiful flowers...

just the day after you were here.

He was a big, tall man.

With a beard.

Yes. With a beard.

Sommelier.

- Criminal underworld in Warszawa?

- Mmm.

It's true that for a year or so...

I did see a little something

of that sort of thing.

It wasn't as amusing

as you might think.

- Criminals aren't ever very amusing.

- It's because they're failures.

Those who make real money

aren't counted as criminals.

- This is a class distinction, not an ethical problem.

- Here's to crime.

- I suppose you want me to tell you about Sophie.

- Sophie?

She was, in those years,

the most important criminal in Poland.

However, we did manage

to put her out of business.

- "We"?

- There were several of us.

Young girls.

And I won't pretend to you that we were not

rather thrilled at being part of the secret police.

Also, in my case,

our family needed the money badly.

We were sort of wooden ducks.

- How you call it? A decoy?

- You mean you were used to collect evidence.

Ah, it was a rather nasty business really.

The gang masqueraded

as a dancing school...

where the young ladies went

to learn the tango.

The victims, of course,

ended up in South America.

I was glad actually

to be useful in breaking it up.

The leader got away.

Oh, Sophie's been living abroad

ever since, in great style.

- Sophie. What was her last name again?

- She married years ago.

- Well, what's her married name?

- You are inquisitive.

Before telling you that, I ought to ask

my employers for permission.

Your employers, Baroness?

You're a vendeuse working for a dress shop.

That means you sold a dress

to her, right?

- She's a good customer.

- She's been in your shop more than once?

- Every year, when she comes to Paris.

- Comes from where?

That is something one mustn't tell,

I should think.

I thought they were very strict about people

with criminal records in Argentina.

- Not Argentina. No.

- Oh?

And not Chile either. No.

Don't imagine you can trap me so easily.

I'll bet you a couple of

hundred dollars...

I can trap you, Baroness.

Let's make it 500.

It's more sporting.

Three hundred.

That's sporting enough.

Here. Write Sophie's married name

and address...

and then we'll compare notes.

Aha. First we'll have

some more gypsy music.

And you'll buy me another bottle

of champagne.

Then afterwards -just for the fun of it -

you'll show me your money.

As you wish.

No, no. I really can't.

I hate people who sell information.

There was somebody else only last week

who wanted to know the same thing.

- What?

- Ah. About Sophie.

Ah, digging into the past.

It's really too disgusting.

Here. Take it as a gift.

After all, what's that woman to me?

You can't object if I settle our wager.

There. You see what I've written?

I didn't come within a mile of it.

It was Van Stratten

who approached you.

Yes.

- I'm a fool.

- Why?

Baroness, a fool is a man

who pays twice for the same thing.

Until I learned about it from the baroness...

I hadn't even realized

that Arkadin was in Paris.

But I didn't bother to see him.

If he was trying to do my job for me...

I'd have to hurry up

and beat him to the finish.

Before catching the plane for Mexico,

I stopped by at my hotel.

There still wasn't any word from Mily.

I hadn't heard from her in weeks.

No, sir. There's no message.

But there is someone to see you.

Going to ask me up for a drink?

Come on.

Guess we have time for one.

Oh, yes. And there's somebody else

waiting for you.

You've been avoiding me. Why?

I hope it isn't because of my father.

No. I've been away.

Belgrade, Zurich.

Why all this jumping around?

- Job.

- For my father?

Funny. I thought I caught a glimpse

of him here in your hotel.

- But that doesn't make sense, does it?

- You don't trust me, do you?

That's really why

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