看来继续呆在这儿不会有什么新的收获了，克拉克站起来朝电梯走去。他走进电梯，“难道就这么回去吗？”他有些不甘心。他看看四周没人，便关上门按动了向上的按钮。

二十一层的走廊里静悄悄的空无一人，克拉克蹑手蹑脚地沿着走廊朝前走去。

Chapter 12 Visit to Bethe Douglas Company（C）

It does not harvest any things in new to continue staying here, so Clark stood up to go toward the elevator. He walked into the elevator, ‘it's as so back?’ He was unwilling. He did look around no people, then close the door clicked the button to the top floor.

The 21st layer in the silent deserted corridor, Clark along the corridor went ahead with light footsteps.

他四处查看。

他轻轻打开一扇门，这是一个空房间，大部分地方是空的，很像是一个临时的储藏室。在这个房间的角落里堆放着一些长方形的木盒子。盒子的大小约一人多长，盒盖可以开启，装有搭扣。打开盒盖里面是空的，只有一个氧气面罩由一根细管通往盒外。“这是做什么用的？棺材不像棺材，担架不像担架。”克拉克正在思考木盒的用途，走廊里忽然响起了脚步声，他连忙关上盒盖躲在门后。一两分钟以后，走廊里再次恢复了平静，他走出房间继续向前探索。

He explored.

He opened up a door gently, this is an empty room that like a temporary storage where most of the local is empty. In the corner of the room some rectangular wooden boxes are stacked. About the size of the box that length is more than a man, the lid can be opened to be equipped with buckles. To open the lid, it was empty inside, and there is only one oxygen mask by a thin tube to outside of the box. ‘What's this? Coffin is not like a coffin, and stretcher is not like a stretcher.’ Clark was thinking about the purpose of the wooden box, and suddenly the footsteps sounded of the corridor, so he hurriedly shut the lid to hide behind the door. After a minute or two, the corridor all calm again, he walked out of the room to move on to explore.

这时，有人说话的声音断断续续地传来，声音是从一间双开门的大房间里传出来的。

这个房间的门用整块厚玻璃制成，门楣上钉着“会议厅”的字牌。门关得不严，留有很宽的一条缝。克拉克站在门口往里面看，里面有一张椭圆形的环状大会议桌，大约可以坐二十人左右。有一边的墙上挂着两张地图，一张是世界地图，另一张看不清。再往里面，有两个人坐在沙发里谈话，声音就是从这儿传来的。

At this time, someone’s voice came by fits and starts, the sound from a big room where has the double door.

The door of the room with two pieces of thick glass, lintel pinned a plate mark the "meeting room ". The door does not shut close with a wide crack. Clark stood at the door to look inside, what there is an oval table that about twenty people can sit around. There are two maps hanging on the wall of one side, one of the map is of the world, and the other one can't see. Inside that, two men sat in armchairs, and the voice was to come from there.

“……灵魂信息传导术……皮夹克……三千个鱼缸……尼古拉斯……C类皮夹克缺货……捕猎……开会……”

无论克拉克怎么努力，也还是听不清楚，只有零七八碎的片言只语，他后悔没把超级定向窃听器带来。“皮夹克”？真见鬼，这儿地处热带根本不是穿那玩意儿的地方，猜这样的字谜克拉克感到很为难。”鱼缸”？他们要养鱼？其实，“皮夹克”“鱼缸”都是贝特·道格拉斯公司的行话，外人当然不清楚。正当克拉克想是不是把门再推开一点儿，丝毫没有发现走廊里的变化，最糟糕的事发生了，一支硬邦邦的枪管顶住了他的后脊梁骨。

‘... The soul of information tran**ission... Leather jacket... Three thousands fish tanks... Nicholas... C class leather jacket out of stock... Hunting... Meeting...’

No matter for efforts, Clark still could not hear clearly, only sporadic chit-chat, he regretted didn't bring his super directional bug. The leather jacket? Heck, there is tropics which does not wear that thing at all, guess of this puzzle Clark felt very embarrassed. ‘Fish tank’? Are they for fish-farming? In fact, leather jacket and fish tank all they are Bethe Douglas company's jargon, of course, outsiders are not clear. As Clark thought to push the door open a little again, didn't find the change of the corridor, the worst situation happened, a hard of barrel resisted to his spine.

“别动！”一个女人的声音，“把门推开，进去！”

克拉克别无选择，只得把玻璃门推开。这时，里面的两个家伙看到有人进来，便停止了对话站起来。一个学者模样的家伙问道：“怎么回事？”

克拉克一直向前走去，路过地图时，他用眼角朝它扫了一下，这是一张小岛的平面图。他走到距那个络腮胡子只有两码[1]的地方停了下来。

‘Don't move!’ A woman's voice, ‘push the door open, and come in!’

Clark had no choice but to put the glass door opened. At this time, inside of the two guys to see someone to come in, then stopped dialogue to stand up. The guy of like a scholar asked: ’What's the matter?’

Clark had been walking forward, while he passed by a map to glance for it that this is a map of an island. He went to near the whiskers where distance is only two yards to stop.

“谢尔曼博士，他在外面偷听你们的谈话。”那个女人站在克拉克的后侧说。

“什么？”另外一个胖家伙的脸上立刻露出了凶相，下巴上的肉随着他说话的声音抖动着，“你是干什么的？”

“我是你们的客户，这完全是误会。”

克拉克一边解释一边转了四十五度，以便可以观察到那个女人的情况。

“什么客户？”那个胖子问。

“青春一月游。”

‘Dr Sherman, he eavesdrops on your conversation outside.’ The woman stood behind Clark and said.

‘What?’ Another fat guy immediately showed ferocious face, the flesh of his chin was shaking with he spoke, ‘what do you do?’

‘I am your customer, this is a total misunderstanding.’

Clark explained while turned 45 degrees, so that the woman's situation can be observed.

‘What customers?’ The fat man asked.

‘ Playing a Month for Youth.’

“那你应该到十楼去，到这儿来干什么？”

“难道这儿不是十楼吗？一定是你们的电梯有毛病。”

“别听他胡扯，”那个叫做谢尔曼的说，“送上门的，不能放他走。”

克拉克已经打定了主意，他必须伺机采取行动，决不能在这种情况下束手就擒。他想，那个女人怕误伤了自己人，一定不敢朝谢尔曼的方向射击，只要自己动作快，在极短的时间里靠近他，那个女人开枪的可能性就很小。

‘You should go to the tenth floor, what are you doing here?’

‘Isn't there tenth floor? Must be there something wrong with your elevator.’

‘Don't listen to his nonsense,’ the man named Sherman said, ‘gratis guy, can't let him go.’

Clark had made up his mind that he must act. He must be not to give up easily. He thought in this case the woman afraid of hitting one of their own, and she must not shoot at the direction of the Sherman, as long as he fast enough, close to him in a very short time, and the woman shot possibility is very **all.

谢尔曼的话音还没落下来，克拉克便一侧身，像一头狮子似的冲了过去，用肩膀把他顶了个四肢朝天，那胖子也倒在了沙发里。

“快开枪，利德！”谢尔曼大声地喊着。

突如其来的攻击使这个叫利德的女人不知所措，手脚僵硬得动也动不了。

“乒！”一颗子弹毫无目标地嵌入了天花板。

还不等对手喘过气来，克拉克从口袋里掏出一个贴着黄色标签的小药瓶，朝那个女人一扔。她以为是一个**，连忙抱住自己的脑袋往一边躲。就在这时候，克拉克一个箭步冲出了会议厅。

The voice falls down not yet of Sherman, Clark like a lion dashed past while his body was sideways, with his shoulder to take a heavy impact to the guy who limbs off the ground and the fat lay down on the sofa either.

‘Quick shot, Reed!’ Sherman shouted loudly.

The sudden attack overwhelmed the woman who named Reed lost her head, her hands were stiffness and could not any move also.

‘Ping!’ A bullet without goal embedded in the ceiling.

When the enemy had not a breath, Clark pulled out a **all bottle that on the yellow label from his pocket and threw it over to the woman. She thought it was a bomb, hurriedly embraced her head with arms to hide for one side. Just then, Clark had rushed out of the hall.

等谢尔曼看清楚了扔过来的“**”是个瓶子时，他连忙从地上爬起来。他从利德那里夺过手枪，飞快地追了出去，那胖子连忙抓起电话，向安全系统报了警。

来不及乘电梯了，克拉克一头钻进了楼梯间，躲着飞来的子弹，朝楼下逃去。

一对年轻的男女躲在楼道里正在互相“啃”得精精有味，这时吓得情绪全无，摔倒在地上。情侣

Sherman saw what threw to them such as "bomb" is a bottle, he hurriedly climbed up from the ground. He took the pistol from Reed chasing out quickly, and the fat man hurriedly grabbed the phone to call to the security systems of company.

Too late to take the elevator, directly Clark ran into the stairwells to avoid flying bullets downstairs to escape.

A pair of young lovers in the corridor were each other "bites " as relish, but then with fear to lose feeling to fall to the ground.

只用了两分多钟，克拉克就已经到了大厦的二楼。他知道一楼的大厅里一定有不少人等着抓他，于是，他把二楼的一扇窗户打开，纵身跳下。他穿过草坪，越过栅栏，不一会儿，他已经跑到了大街上。

克拉克回头一看，从贝特·道格拉斯公司里涌出一伙人，正在张牙舞爪地向他奔来。他四处张望，连忙拦住一辆出租车，把司机拽出来，开起车子就跑。

那个司机在后面跺着脚，无可奈何地喊着：“我的车！我的车！”

More than two minutes only, Clark had to the second floor of the building. He knew that the first floor of the hall there must be a lot of people waiting to catch him, so he dived off to the ground from a window that open by him on the second floor. He across the lawn over the fence for a moment later had run into the street.

Clark looking back, from Bethe Douglas Company gushed out a group of people who were sabre rattling to run toward him. He looked around hurriedly to stop a taxi to pull out the taxi driver and drove the car running off.

The driver behind stamped and reluctantly shouted: ‘my car, my car!’

当克拉克摆脱了对手的追踪以后，便把出租车扔在了路边上。这时，他才发现自己的衣服撕了一条长口子，扣子已经完全不起作用，这一定是刚才从窗户跳下时剐破的。

几经周折，在天黑的时候，克拉克回到了自己的旅馆。他正想为自己重新找件外衣，一阵电话铃响了。这是他的无线电话，机壳上一颗红色的发光二极管正在不断地闪烁着，这是总部打来的。

When Clark had shaken off the opponent's track, then he lost the taxi on the roadside. At this time, he found that there was a long tear in his clothes, and buttons completely didn't work, it definitely was what jump out from the window to snag just now.

After some tortuosity, Clark returned to his hotel when it is dark. When he was thinking to get a coat for himself, the telephone rang. This is his mobile phone, on the chassis of a red led is constantly flashing, this is from the headquarters.

“喂，埃德蒙吗？我是斯威特。”

斯威特小姐是奈特先生的秘书。

“我是埃德蒙，请讲。”

“埃德蒙听好，总部命令你立即返回；你现在马上到机场停机坪去，有专机送你回来，有问题吗？”

“没有，完毕。”

‘Hello, Edmund? I'm Sweet.’

Sweet lady is Mr Knight's secretary.

‘I am Edmund, please speak.’

‘Listen Edmund, headquarters ordered you return immediately, you go to the airport tarmac right now, a plane to send you back, is there a problem?’

‘No, over.’

关掉电话，克拉克楞了半天,是什么事这么急，他猜不出来。这事没有选择，他必须立即上路。

他准备好行装，来到服务台办好退房手续，并且告诉他们：如果发现少了一只枕头，请到床底下去找。

晚上的风非常凉爽，克拉克钻进一辆出租汽车，急速地朝机场赶去。当他到达机场时，一架“挑战者”2000[2]型喷气机已经整装待发。一位素不相识的男子看到克拉克来了以后，立即将他带上飞机。不一会儿，“挑战者”喷气机已经射向了漆黑的夜空。

Turned off the phone, Clark speechless for along while, what so hurried, he was not found out. It was no choice, so he must immediately go on the road.

He prepared to pack his luggage to front desk finished check-out procedures, and told them: if it is found that less a pillow, please go to find under the bed.

In the evening the wind is very cool, Clark got into a taxi rapidly toward the airport. When he arrived at the airport, a jet of "challenger" 2000 type had been ready. A complete stranger seen Clark came and taken him got on the plane immediately. After a while, "challenger" jet has been into the dark night sky.

注 [1]两码，英制长度单位，约1.8米。

[2] “挑战者”2000——加拿大生产过一种小型商务喷气机叫“挑战者”。