Engles gave a short laugh. 'Nonsense,' he said. 'Keramikos is as sober as I am. And he knows that I can't do him any harm at the moment unless I get at those skis.'
'You mean he was pretending to be drunk?' I asked. My brain was working very slowly.
Engles nodded. 'That last drink I mixed — he didn't touch it. And I didn't give it to you or Joe. There was a Mickey in it. He knew it as soon as he tasted it. Mayne was the only one that drank it. He'll sleep all right tonight.'
'But I don't quite see why Keramikos should want to follow you,' I said.
'My God! You're dull tonight, Neil,' said Engles sharply. 'Keramikos is a Greek national. In Greece we couldn't touch him. But here in Italy it's different. Italy is still conquered territory. We still have our troops in Venezia Giulia. If I could get through to the Field Security Police there, he'd have a pretty nasty time getting out of the country. And he knows that I'm more interested in him than in the gold.'
He lit a cigarette. 'Now then, this is what I want you to do, Neil,' he went on. 'As soon as I have dropped through this window, I want you to open your door slightly and watch the corridor. When Keramikos comes out of his room, slip into Joe's room. Don't let Keramikos see you though. The window of Joe's room faces the slittovia. Lean out and lob something heavy, like the water jug, down by the doorway of the machine-room. I'll know then what margin of time I have. My tracks will be perfectly clear to him. I'll take the slalom run down to Tre Croci. I'll go straight across the pass on to the old Military Patrol route up to Tondi di Faloria. I'll take him through what our boys used to call the "Gun Barrel", and so down to the carabinieri post at Cortina. As soon as Keramikos leaves on my trail, I want you to drop on to the belvedere, get your skis out and make for the hotel at Tre Croci. Get on the phone then to Trieste — Major Musgrave of the Field Security Police. Tell him you're speaking for me. He knows who I am. Tell him to send me as many men as he can from the nearest section by jeep. They're to meet me at the carabinieri post in Cortina. Tell him as much as is necessary to impress on him the urgency of the matter. Make it clear to him that there's a Nazi agent to be picked up. And they must come up by jeep. Tell him the snow is thick and they may not be able to get through in a larger vehicle.' He stopped then and looked at me closely. 'Now, are those instructions quite clear, Neil?'
I nodded. 'Perfectly clear,' I assured him. The thought of action had sobered me up.
But he wasn't satisfied. He had me repeat them over to him. When I had finished, he lay back on the bed and drew a blanket over himself. 'Now sit there and listen for the others to come tombed,' he said. 'Who's still down there — Joe and Mayne? Right. Wake me half 199 an hour after the last of them has come to bed. And don't fall asleep.'
'I won't, 'I said.
'One other thing,' he added as he settled himself. 'If you can't get through to Trieste, try Udine or any town where we've got troops and persuade the garrison commander to take action. I don't want Keramikos to slip through our ringers. He did us a lot of damage in Greece and he's probably hand-in-glove with ELAS.'