蓝色列车之谜9

Chapter 9 AN OFFER REFUSED ,It was rarely that Derek Kettering allowed his temper to get the better of him. An easygoing insouciance was his chief ,characteristic and it had stood him in good stead in more than one tight corner. Even now, by the time he had left Mirelle's flat, he had cooled down. He had need of coolness. The corner he was in now ,was a tighter one than he had ever been in before, and unforeseen factors had arisen with which, for the moment, he did not know how to deal. ,He strolled along deep in thought. His brow was furrowed, and there was none of the easy, jaunty manner which sat so well on him. Various possibilities floated trough his mind. It might have been said of Derek Kettering that he was less of a fool than he looked. He saw several roads that he might take - one in particular. If he shrank from it, it was for the moment only. ,Desperate ills need desperate remedies. He had gauged his father-in-law correctly. A war between Derek Kettering and Rufus Van Aldin could end only one way. Derek damned money and the power of money vehemently to himself. He walked up St James's Street, across Piccadilly, and strolled along it in the direction of Piccadilly Circus. As he passed the offices of Messrs. Thomas Cook & Sons his footsteps slackened. He walked on, however, still turning the matter over in his mind. Finally, he gave a brief nod of his head, turned sharply - so sharply as to collide with a couple of pedestrians who were following in his footsteps, and went back the way he had come. This time he did not pass Cook's, but went in. The office was comparatively empty, and he got attended to at once. ,"What date, sir?" ,"The 14th. What is the best train?" ,"Well, of course, the best train is what they call 'The Blue Train.' ,You avoid the tiresome Customs business at Calais." ,Derek nodded. He knew all this, none better. ,