'No, Robbie; no.' Stephanie gave a quick shake of her chestnut curls. 'You seem to have forgotten that you stood drinks to the whole party there and that you were denounced as a spy in front of them. One or more of them would be certain to recognize you.'
'That's true, but I had forgotten it. Although I got the best of things, I've been through a rather rough time this evening, and I'm afraid all the excitement has put my mind a bit out of gear for making new plans. But I'll be all right in the morning. Let's leave it till then.'
Leaning forward, she laid a hand gently on his knee. 'Robbie, let's face it. You've got lots of splendid qualities, but you weren't cut out to be either a spy or a planner. Why your firm should ever have picked you for this job, I can't think. Won't you please telephone them tomorrow; tell them that tonight you narrowly escaped having to spend three months in hospital, and that a man you have beaten up may try to revenge himself on you at any time? Then ask them to release you from this dangerous work. They can't possibly refuse.'
He shook his head. 'No I don't want to do that.'
'Why not? If you have to take me back to Athens, I'll manage somehow. But you've earned a holiday for the risks you have already taken. Why not claim it? Then we could go on in the car to other interesting places. You would be able to concentrate entirely on your book, and in between driving from place to place, I would type it for you.'
Robbie smiled. That would be lovely. I can't think of anything I'd like more. Perhaps after I have found out what these chaps are up to, we might do that; but not until I have.'
'But you do know what they are up to,' she said with a puzzled frown. They are establishing a chain of depots in opposition to your firm. At least, that's what you gave me to understand.'
'Well, yes. That, more or less, describes what I believe them to be doing. But I want to find'out details: particularly about the type of machinery they mean to employ. And until I've done that, I can't do as you wish. Really I can't.'
Finishing her drink, she stood up. 'All right, then, since you insist on being pig-headed. But you'll have only yourself to blame if that man Barak sticks a knife into you, or something frightful. I'm going up to bed.'
Overnight, Robbie's mind had been so full of his adventure that he had given little thought to its physical consequences, but in the morning they were brought home to him in no uncertain manner. His fall, although broken by Stoll's body, and the many blows he had received on his own, resulted in his waking stiff and aching. As he turned from side to side in bed, the pain from his bruises caused him to take fresh stock of the situation. Those pains, he reflected, might easily have been instead the real agony of broken bones and torn ligaments. There was much to be said for Stephanie's gloomy forebodings that, if he courted the further attentions of the Czechs, they might be luckier next time and give him real cause to regret it. Moreover, her view that Barak would seek revenge for his smashed-in face could not be lightly disregarded.
Barak might be out of the game temporarily, but it was certain that he would regard his English bugbear as still in it; so it seemed highly probable that he would send a detailed description of Robbie to all his groups, with orders to watch out for him. That meant that a certain degree of risk would now be entailed by snooping in the vicinity of any of them.
The very fact that the Czechs had reacted so forcibly to Robbie's initial snooping could be taken as definite confirmation that they were not, against all probability, prospecting for oil, but had some nefarious design to hide. Realizing that, nothing could now have dissuaded Robbie from continuing his investigations. But the more he thought of the matter, the more convinced he became that his future activities ought to be conducted with extreme caution.
It occurred to him then that he might fox the enemy by giving them the impression that he had come out of last night's encounters far worse than he had; and by going to earth for a While lead them to suppose that he had thrown in his hand.
This idea greatly tickled his sense of humour and, again temporarily forgetting his bruises, he spent the time until the chambermaid brought his breakfast planning this new move. When the woman arrived with his tray, he told her that the previous night he had had a bit too much to drink and had become involved in a quarrel in which he had got the worst of it. He then asked her to send out for some healing ointment, bandages, a packet of large safety pins and a stout walking stick, and to take a note from him down to Miss Stephanopoulos. In the note he had written in English the single line: Don't show surprise at my appearance.
Three-quarters of an hour later the chambermaid came to collect his tray, and brought him the things for which he had asked. Getting up, he went along the corridor and had a bath, but he did not shave; and in the mirror he was pleased to see that the blow which he had received on the cheek had coloured up into a fine red bruise with a purple edge near the outer corner of his left eye. Returning to his room, he treated his bruises with the ointment then, with some difficulty, bandaged his head, but left the bruise on his cheek exposed. After packing his suitcase, he made another bandage into a sling for his left arm and, taking the stout stick, hobbled downstairs.
Stephanie, with her suitcase beside her, was waiting for him in the narrow hall. At the sight of his unshaven face and bandaged head, her dark eyebrows lifted and her mouth opened slightly. But she swiftly controlled her features, stood up and asked him how he was feeling.
'Not too good,' he replied. 'I behaved very stupidly last night, and I've had enough of it.' Then he hobbled over to the desk behind which the manageress was sitting, paid the bill and said: 'If any letters should come for me, please direct them care of the British Embassy, Athens.' Five minutes later their bags had been carried out to the car and Stephanie was driving it out of the garage yard.
'What is all this?' she asked with sharp displeasure. 'If you meant to play some trick why couldn't you have told me? And what road am I to take? Do you really mean that we should go back to Athens?'
He gave a low chuckle. 'This is an idea I had this morning for fooling the enemy. Turn into the main road, King Constantine Avenue, and keep going over the level crossings. It's pretty certain that Barak will send his pals to enquire at the hotel about us. I'm hoping that he'll assume from what the manageress tells them that I've thrown in my hand and have gone back to Athens. But you were right last night that they will be on the look-out for me, so I've decided that our best plan will be to lie doggo for a while. If I don't show up for a week or so they'll probably think that they have got rid of me for good. Then, when their suspicions have been lulled, I intend to have another crack at them. In the meantime, I think it would be a good idea for us to go down to Navplion. We'll be hundreds of miles from any of the places where they are putting groups to work, and within easy reach of the ruins of Mycenae and Tiryns which are probably the most interesting anywhere in Greece.'
Thank goodness you've shown some sense,' she replied. 'But get out the map and tell me which way to go.'
After studying the map for a few moments, he said: 'It's not far: only about sixty kilometres. Most of it is through the mountains, but even so, it shouldn't be much more than an hour and a half's run. About half-way we'll pass through the village of Nemea. It was round about there that Hercules performed his first labour of slaying the terrible Nemean Lion. Mycenae lies on the foothills at the far side of the pass, then we'll come down into the plain of Argos.'