The Mask of Dimitrios Page #4

Completely unmoral.

But fascinating.

That's funny...

would you be so good

as to shut the door behind you?

I think if you

stretched out your left hand,

you could do it

without moving your feet.

What is the meaning

of all this?

This is

most awkward.

I didn't expect you

back so soon.

I can see that.

I had hoped to get

things tidied up. Such vandalism.

A book is

a lovely thing.

A garden stocked

with beautiful flowers.

A magic carpet on

which to fly away to unknown climes.

What are you

talking about?

A little frankness,

mr. Leyden, please.

There could only be

one reason

why your room should

be searched,

and you know that

as well as i do.

Of course

i can understand your difficulty.

You're wondering

exactly where i stand.

If it's any consolation

to you, however, i may say my difficulty

is wondering exactly

where you stand.

I'm tired.

I'll go to bed.

Say, what on earth

are you doing here?

Last night i met you

on a train.

You said you were

going to bucharest.

Now i find you here

waving this silly pistol

in my face.

I can only conclude

you're a thief or you're drunk.

Are you drunk, sir?

Maybe you're mad.

Well, in that case,

i can only humor you

and hope for the best.

Perfect.

No, no.

Keep away from that

telephone, please.

Since you have returned

so unexpectedly,

since i can no longer

meet you on a basis of,

may i say,

disinterested friendship,

let us be frank

with one another.

Why are you

so interested in dimitrios?

Dimitrios?

Yes,

dear mr. Leyden, dimitrios.

You've come from

the levant.

Dimitrios came

from there.

In athens, you were

very energetically seeking his record

in the relief

commission archives. Why?

Well-

wait before you answer.

I have no animosity

towards you.

I bear you no ill will,

let that be clear.

But as it happens,

i, too, am interested in dimitrios.

And because of that

i am interested in you.

Now, mr. Leyden, tell me

frankly where you stand.

What-forgive the

expression, please-

is your game?

My game, huh?

Well, i'll tell you

what my game is

if you tell me yours.

I have nothing to hide.

Would you mind telling me

what you hope to find

in the bindings of

my books or in the tube of my toothpaste?

Would you mind

telling me that?

I was looking

for an answer to my question.

But all i found

was this.

You see, i felt that if

you hid papers between the leaves of books,

you might also hide

more interesting papers in the bindings.

It was never intended

to be hidden.

And is this

all you know

about dimitrios,

mr. Leyden?

No.

Now, who, i wonder,

is this colonel haki

who seems so

well-informed and so indiscreet?

The name is turkish.

And poor dimitrios

was taken from us in istanbul, was he not?

And you have come

from istanbul, haven't you?

Mm-hmm.

You know,

it almost looks as if you'd been reading

a turkish police

dossier,

now, doesn't it, eh?

For every question

you ask,

you'll have to

answer one.

Had you ever met him?

I mean, actually met him?

I don't think you're

very sure of yourself, mr. Leyden.

I have an idea that i

can tell you much more

than you can tell me.

I think i must be going.

Good night.

I thought

you were going. Good night.

Istanbul, istanbul,

smyrna, 1922, sofia.

Now, i wonder...

i wonder if it would be

very stupid of me to imagine

that you were thinking

of going to belgrade in the near future,

would it, mr. Leyden?

You'll like belgrade.

Such a beautiful city.

The views from the turrets-

you can't imagine.

Magnificent.

See here.

Mr. Peters, a moment ago

you mentioned

a bureau of records in athens.

Weren't you there

while i was there?

The stout gentleman!

Then it was

no accident

that you were on

the same train,

in the same

compartment,

no accident that

you recommended the hotel.

I've known everything

you've done

since you left

the record bureau in athens.

I've already told you

i'm interested in anyone

that's interested

in dimitrios.

But what on earth is

your great interest in dimitrios?

Money? He had none.

I saw his body

at the mortuary,

but you're certain-

what's the matter?

Did i understand you

to say

that you actually saw

the body of dimitrios

in the mortuary?

I said i did.

What do you want?

Take your hands

off me!

Say, you

are insane.

Mr. Leyden,

we must reach

an understanding.

We must stop

this quarreling.

It's absolutely

essential that i know what you're after.

And i want to know-

no, no, no.

Please don't interrupt me.

I admit i probably need

your answers more than you need mine,

but i cannot give you

mine at present.

Then you won't

get mine.

Yes, yes, i heard

what you said,

but i'm talking

seriously.

Listen, please.

If you go to belgrade,

you will not discover

a single trace of dimitrios.

Furthermore, you may

find yourself in trouble with the authorities

if you pursue the matter.

There's only one man

who could and would, under certain circumstances,

tell you what you

want to know.

He lives near geneva.

Now, then,

i will give you his name,

and i will give you

a letter to him,

but first i must know

why you want this information.

Your passport describes

you as a writer,

but that is

a very elastic term.

Who are you,

mr. Leyden?

And what is

your game?

I have no game.

Naturally when i ask

what your game is,

i use the phrase

in a specific sense.

Your game is of course

to get money.

But that is not

the answer i mean.

Are you rich,

mr. Leyden?

Ha.

No. Then what

i have to say may be simplified.

I am proposing

an alliance, mr. Leyden.

A pooling of

resources.

I am aware of

certain facts

which i cannot

at the moment tell you about.

You, on the other hand,

possess an important

piece of information.

You may not know

that it is important,

but nevertheless it is.

Now, my facts alone are

not worth a great deal.

Your piece of

information

is quite valueless

without my facts.

The two together,

however,

are worth

at the very least-

at the very least-

a million

french francs.

One million?

What do you say

to that?

You'll forgive me,

mr. Peters,

but i don't understand

what you're talking about,

not that it makes

any difference what i do or not,

but... oh,

i think i'm tired.

I'm very tired,

and i want to go to bed.

One million, huh?

No, mr. Peters.

Well, i suppose

there's no reason

why i shouldn't

tell you

what my interest

in dimitrios is,

but it certainly

isn't money.

I make

a decent living.

As you know,

detective stories sell very well.

Detective stories...

mr. Leyden,

may i use your paper?

Oh, go right ahead.

You used everything else.

Detective stories.

Now, that's most

interesting to me, mr. Leyden.

I'm so fond of them.

I'm glad you like them.

Well, the first time

i heard about dimitrios was in istanbul,

from colonel haki.

I don't know exactly

how it happened,

but somehow i found

myself trying to trace his strange career.

Why?

Partly for my amusement,

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