Under The Net - Iris Murdoch [58]
scruples.' Good for Sammy! I thought; and I was seized forthwith by a convulsive desire to laugh, and had to prevent myself by covering my mouth violently. The woman with the pinafore reappeared at her window, and at the same time the woman with the hat, who evidently lived in the flat above, appeared at a higher window accompanied by a man 'There he is!' she said, pointing to me. Then they came out on to the fire escape. 'Perhaps he's deaf and dumb,' said the woman with the pinafore. 'Can't you say anything?' called the man on the fire escape. This was becoming embarrassing. I glared at him, and pointing into my mouth shook my head vigorously. I wasn't sure whether nodding wouldn't have conveyed my meaning more clearly, but the possibilities of misunderstanding were in any case so enormous that it didn't seem to matter much one way or the other. 'He's hungry,' said the woman in the pinafore. 'Why don't you do something?' said the woman in the hat to her husband in that maddening way women have. I felt quite sorry for the fellow. He scratched his head. 'Why can't we just leave him alone?' he said. 'He's not doing any harm.' This was such a sensible remark that I couldn't but wave to him my congratulations and fellow-feelings. The effect must have been gruesome. He recoiled. 'You can't leave him there,' said the woman with the pinafore. She had come out on to the fire escape too. 'He's looking straight into our rooms. Suppose the children were to see him?' 'I tell you, he's got away from somewhere!' said the woman above. A female who was obviously a char then appeared at the kitchen door of the flat below, and had to have the whole matter explained to her. All this while I was in a cold sweat in case the hullabaloo might attract the attention of Sadie and Sammy; but they were either so drunk or else so absorbed in their plot that so far they had noticed nothing. 'I'd like to look it over again before I see H. K.,' Sadie was saying, 'Where is it, incidentally?' 'It's at my flat,' said Sammy. 'Could we phone and have it brought over at once?' Sadie asked. 'There's no one there,' said Sammy, 'that is unless our new star has come. But that's unlikely.' He laughed. 'You know, I think that was a terribly bad idea of yours,' said Sadie. 'That stuff's just out of date.' 'You're jealous!' said Sammy. 'Look, I'll call there this evening and bring it round then; will that do?' 'That'll do,' said Sadie. 'Late!' said Sammy. 'That'll do!' said Sadie. There was laughing and scuffling. I wished them joy of each other. But most of all I wished that I could understand what in heaven's name they were up to. 'I'll leave squaring Donaghue to you,' said Sammy. 'We aren't on very good terms,' said Sadie. 'Did I tell you I tried to employ him as a caretaker, but he cleared off?' 'With Belfounder on the rampage you'll need an armed guard,' said Sammy. 'But why employ an ass like Donaghue? You really have no common sense at all.' 'I rather like him,' said Sadie simply. This bit touched me deeply. 'Well, you look after him then,' said Sammy. 'Oh, stop worrying, will you?' said Sadie. 'One translation's just like another. If he won't let us use his we can buy another translation overnight. All we need is to let H. K. see it now in English. As for the Frenchman, he'd sell us his grandmother for dollars.' This set me reeling, and I was just getting to the answer when Sammy gave it to me. 'It makes a nice title, doesn't it?' he said. 'The Wooden Nightingale.' I sat there with my mouth open. But I was given no time to reflect. The scene opposite claimed my attention once more; things over there were beginning to move fast. 'Better call the police, if you ask me,' said the char. 'Better to let the police deal with them kind, I always think.' The house opposite stood on one side of a wide cobbled lane which gave on to Queen Anne Street. At the corner of this lane I now saw that a small crowd was collecting, attracted by the drama on the fire escape. 'Look at 'I'm looking down!' said the char. "E knows what's going on!' 'You go and dial nine nine nine,' said