when it comes to that.’
‘I can control them,’ she said loftily. She smiled and held out her hand. ‘It’s a deal, then, as the Americans say.’
I looked at her hand but didn’t touch it. I shook my head. ‘Not yet. I still have to discuss it with Coertze and Walker. They’ll take a hell of a lot of convincing – especially Coertze. What did you do to him, anyway?’ She withdrew her hand slowly and looked at me strangely.‘Almost you convince me that you are an honest man.’
I grinned at her cheerfully. ‘Out of necessity, that’s all. Those two are the only ones who know where the gold is.’
‘Oh, yes, I had forgotten. As for Coertze, he is a boor.’
‘He’d be the first to agree with you,’ I said. ‘But it means something different in Afrikaans.’ I had a sudden thought. ‘Does anyone else know what you know – about Alberto’s letter and all that?’
She started to shake her head but stopped suddenly, deciding to be honest. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘One man, but he can be trusted – he is a true friend.’
‘O.K.,’ I said. ‘I just wanted to be sure that no one else will try to pull the same stunt that you’ve just pulled. The whole damn’ Mediterranean seems to be getting into the act. I wouldn’t tell your friends anything you don’t have to – at least, not until it’s all over. If they are criminals, as you say, they might get their own ideas.’
‘I haven’t told them anything so far, and I’m not going to tell them now.’
‘Good. But you can tell them to watch for Torloni’s men. They’ll be keeping an eye on Sanford when they get round to finding where she is.’
‘Oh, yes, Mr Halloran; I’ll certainly tell them to keep a watch on your boat,’ she said sweetly.
I laughed. ‘I know you will. When you’ve got things organized drop in and see us anytime – but make it quick, there’s a time limit on all this.’
I got up from the table and left her. I thought she might as well pay for the breakfast since we were partners – or, as she had put it, ‘in association’.
IV
She came that afternoon, accompanied by a man even bigger than Coertze, whom she introduced as Piero Morese. He nodded civilly enough to me, ignored Walker and regarded Coertze watchfully.
I had had trouble with Coertze – he had taken a lot of convincing and had reiterated in a bass growl, ‘I will not be cheated, I will not be cheated.’
I said wearily, ‘O.K. The gold is up in those hills somewhere; you know where it is. Why don’t you go and get it? I’m sure you can fight Torloni and Metcalfe and the Contessa and her cut-throats single-handed; I’m sure you can bring back the gold and take it to Tangier before April 19. Why don’t you just go ahead and stop bothering me?’
He had calmed down but was not altogether happy and he rumbled like a volcano which does not know whether to erupt again or not. Now he sat in the cabin looking at the Contessa with contempt and the big Italian with mistrust.
Morese had no English so the meeting came to order in Italian, which I could understand if it was not spoken too quickly. The Contessa said, ‘It is all right to speak in front of Piero, he knows everything that I know.’
‘I know you: you were with Umberto,’ said Coertze in mashed Italian.
Morese gave a quick nod but said nothing. The Contessa said, ‘Here is where we talk seriously.’ She looked at me. ‘Have you talked this over?’
‘We have.’
‘Do they accept the terms?’
‘They do.’
‘Very well, where is the gold?’
There was a growl from Coertze which I covered with a quick burst of laughter. ‘Contessa, you’ll be the death of me,’ I said. ‘I’ll die laughing. You don’t suppose we’ll tell you that, do you?’
She smiled acidly. ‘No – but I thought I would try it. All right, how do we go about this?’
I said, ‘First of all, there’s a time limit. We’ll want the gold delivered to Rapallo by the 1st of March at the latest. We also want a place where we can work undisturbed with this boat; either a private boat-shed or a boatyard. That must be arranged for now.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Why the 1st of March?’
‘That is of no consequence to you, but that is the way it must be.’
Morese said, ‘That does not leave much time. The first of the month is in two weeks.’
‘True,’ I said. ‘But that is the way it must be. The next thing is that only the five of us here will go to the gold. There must be no one else. We will unseal the place where it is hidden, pack what we want into strong boxes and move it out. Then we will seal the hidden place again. After that, and only after that, will we need the help of anyone else, and even then, only for lifting and transport to the coast. There is no need to have too many people knowing what we are doing.’
‘That is well thought of,’ said Morese.
I said, ‘Everything will be brought to the boat-shed – everything, including the jewels. We five will live together for one month while my friends and I do what we have to do. If you want the jewels valued you must bring your valuer to the jewels – not vice versa. The final share-out will be decided when the stones have been valued, but will not take place until the boat is in the water.’
‘You talk as though you do not trust us,’ said Morese.
‘I don’t,’ I said bluntly. I jerked my thumb at the Contessa. ‘Your friend here is blackmailing us into all this, so I don’t see where the trust comes in.’
His face darkened. ‘That is unworthy of you.’
I shrugged. ‘Say, rather, it is unworthy of her. She started all this and those are the facts.’
The Contessa put her hand on Morese’s shoulder and he subsided. Coertze barked a short laugh. ‘Magtig, but you have taken her measure.’ He nodded. ‘You’ll have to watch her, she a slim meisie.’
I turned to him. ‘Now it’s up to you. What will you need to get the gold?’
Coertze leaned forward. ‘When I was here last year nothing had changed or been disturbed. The place is in the hills where no one goes. There is a rough road so we can take a lorry right up to the place. The nearest village is four miles away.’
‘Can we work at night?’ I asked.
Coertze thought about that. ‘The fall of rocks looks worse than it is,’ he said. ‘I know how to blast and I made sure of that. Two men with picks and shovels will be able to get through in four hours – longer at night, perhaps – I would say six hours at night.’
‘So
