Dennis Wheatley - Vendetta in Spain

In Spanish homes it is customary for guests not to linger for long after dinner; so having partaken of a small glass of Anis in the sitting-room, the Count made a move to leave. But the Senora waved him back to his chair and said:

'Don't go for a little while. You have not yet told us how you like Barcelona.'

4It is a beautiful city,' he replied politely, 'and I find the people most courteous and friendly. The old town appeals to me particularly, owing to my interest in history.'

'Have you visited the Cathedral?' asked the Lieutenant.

As de Quesnoy shook his head, the young man went on, 'You should, then. Not for its religious associations, as I gather from a remark you made at dinner you are not that way inclined. But in it is the huge crucifix that Don John of Austria had nailed to the mainmast of his flagship when he defeated the Turkish fleet at the battle of Lepanto.'

'Indeed!' the Count raised his eyebrows. 4Yes, I must certainly see that, for Lepanto was one of the decisive battles of the world.'

'I imagine,' the Doctor put in with a smile, 'that our friend has been too busy looking for a job to do much sightseeing.'

'Yes, indeed,' de Quesnoy agreed, 'but so far I have had no luck. As you may recall, I am hoping to find a post as a schoolmaster and that is not easy without the right kind of introductions.'

The Senora glanced at her husband and remarked, 'I wonder if Francisco Ferrer could help?'

De Quesnoy's face remained impassive, but his heart gave a jump. Ferrer's name stood at the very top of the mental list he had made of people whose activities he intended to investigate whilst in Barcelona. But he was too experienced a hunter to rush his fences. To have invented some excuse for introducing himself to Ferrer might easily have aroused the anarchist's suspicions, and he had not intended even to fish for an opening until he had been long enough in the city to have made many other acquaintances who would vouch for him as an enemy of established authority. Only then, perhaps towards the end of the following week, had he meant to go to the library that Ferrer ran and, by becoming a subscriber, open the way to a possible meeting. But it had been because Ferrer was a schoolmaster that he had elected to pose as a schoolmaster himself, hoping that their apparent community of interests might help him to establish relations with his quarry. Now it looked as if his idea was about to bear fruit. Praying that the Doctor's reply might be favourable, he held his breath while awaiting it. After a moment the mild-mannered little man said:

'Yes, my love. Ferrer might know of a post that would suit Senor Chirikov. We must arrange for them to meet.'

While refraining from showing any special enthusiasm, the Count bowed a courteous acknowledgement. 'For such an introduction I should be most grateful.'

'Most evenings Senor Ferrer takes an aperitif at the Cafe Ronda,' the Doctor went on. 'It lies in the Calle de Ronda about halfway between the Plaza de la Universidad and the Plaza de Cataluna. Would it be agreeable to you to meet me there at about six o'clock on .. . let us say Tuesday?'

'My time is still my own, so entirely yours.'

'Then I will get in touch with Ferrer and unless I let you know to the contrary we'll meet on Tuesday evening.'

With that understanding the Count thanked his hosts and took his departure. On his way home he marvelled that so lucky a break should have come from such an unexpected quarter; but, great as his hopes were of it producing concrete results, during the days that followed he did not neglect the cultivation of his acquaintances at the Somaten club.

On the Tuesday he arrived at the Cafe Ronda promptly on time and sat down at one of the tables on the pavement. Some twenty minutes later Doctor Luque arrived and they had hardly exchanged greetings when they were joined by a small dark man in his middle forties, who was wearing a panama hat and gold pince-nez. As he lifted his hat on being introduced to de Quesnoy the Count saw that he had an exceptionally high, narrow forehead. He spoke with the abrupt aggressiveness of a man suffering from an inferiority complex, and his glance from behind the thick-lensed eyeglasses struck de Quesnoy as slightly shifty. But he greeted the Doctor as an old friend, and on being told that the Count was a Russian political refugee shook hands with him warmly.

When drinks had been ordered 'Nicolai Chirikov' was called on to give an account of himself. As he had known Odessa well in his youth it was easy for him to talk of the city and the imaginary school there in which, according to his story, he had become a master. He had, too, meticulously worked out the details of his fictitious journey into exile, and from Valencia onwards Luque could vouch for it. His appearance, accent and the attitude of mind he displayed all contributed to the impression that he was a Russian, and from the outset it was clear that Ferrer never for a moment suspected him to be anything but what he made himself out to be.

After they had been talking for some while Ferrer asked de Quesnoy in what subjects he specialized, to which he replied 'History and literature and, of course, I could teach Russian.'

Ferrer pursed his thin-lipped mouth. 'I take it you mean Russian history.'

'Yes; although I am fairly well up in the history of other countries, particularly in so far as it has affected my own.'

'I thought as much.' The suggestion of a sneer appeared on Ferrer's face. Tt is the same story everywhere. Each country teaches its young little except about its own triumphs, and consistently perverts the truth as the means of justifying the wars started by Kings for their own aggrandizement. My system is very different. In my school we devote a first course to ancient civilizations and the rise of the priestly caste which by spreading superstition became an aristocracy that battened on the people. In the second course we deal with the principal religions of modern times, showing how each has hindered rather than helped the development of mankind, and caused untold misery through its adherents launching wars in an endeavour to force their faith on others. Then the final course deals with the rise of democracy, and the strivings now in progress by the masses in every country to throw off the yoke of tyranny and achieve the individual freedom which is their right.'

Then it is a fine work you are doing,' commented de Quesnoy with feigned enthusiasm.

Tt is,' agreed Ferrer, 'but I think it hardly likely that you have sufficient knowledge of international movements to aid me in it; even if I had a vacancy for a history master, which I have not.'

'How about a master to teach Russian, though?' Luque suggested.

Ferrer shook his high, narrow head. 'I have French and German masters, of course, but Russian is of little use outside Russia; and I could afford neither to employ a Russian teacher nor the time in my schedule for my students to attend lessons in Russian. However, I might be able to send Senor Chirikov a few pupils for private tuition.'

'That would be a great kindness,' smiled the Count, 'because I was able to bring only a limited sum out of Russia with me and, although it is sufficient for my present needs, unless I can find some means of supplementing it I shall soon be in difficulties. As a matter of fact I already have cards in two newspaper shops advertising myself as a teacher of Russian, but so far I have had no applicants for lessons.'

In the latter statement de Quesnoy was telling the truth, since he had decided that to take such a step was necessary to support his cover: although he was hoping that nobody would take advantage of his offer, since to have to waste his time teaching Russian was the last thing he wanted.

For another half hour they sat over a second round of drinks comparing the progress of workers' movements in Spain and Russia;