“I have been told that you are an expert detective, with a great reputation for understanding things. In your opinion, am I responsible for Carla’s death? Were they moved to kill her because I killed the dog?”
“That’s silly, Josip,” Danilo said gruffly. “I was in a temper when I said that. Can’t you forget it?”
“He wants my opinion,” Wolfe said. “It is this. Many men are responsible for Carla’s death, but if I were to name one it would be Georgi Malenkov. He is the foremost champion of the doctrine that men and women must be subjected to the mandates of despotic power. No, Mr. Pasic, you cannot be held accountable, either for Carla’s death or for the fact that your information forces me to undertake a distasteful errand. There’s nothing else for it; I must go to that fort — that is, if I can walk in the morning.” He started to rise, dropped back on the rock, and groaned as if he meant it. “By heaven, if I can stand up! Can you spare me a blanket, Danilo?”
He tried again and made it to his feet.
XII
I nearly froze.
There were no extra blankets. I suppose there would have been if the costly and essential supplies had not been moved to another cache, but that didn’t keep me warm. Pasic gave Wolfe his blanket, and, being a proud Montenegrin with guests, offered to get one from one of the sleeping men for me, but I said oh no, I wouldn’t think of it, through my interpreter. I spent the rest of the night — what was left — thinking of it. Wolfe had told me the elevation there was five thousand feet, but he must have meant meters. The pile of hay Pasic assigned me to was damp, and pulling some of it over me only made things worse. I guess I must have slept some, because I know I dreamed, something about a lot of dogs with cold noses.
I heard voices and opened my eyes and saw bright sunshine outside the cave entrance. My watch said ten past eight, so I had been refrigerating for more than four hours. I lay and figured it out: if I was frozen I couldn’t move, so if I could move I wasn’t frozen. I bent the legs and raised the torso, scrambled to my feet, and tottered to the entrance.
The sun wasn’t there yet. To get it on me I would have had to go to the ledge and out on it a way, and I was all through with that ledge if there was any other possible route out of there. Then I remembered; we weren’t going back, but forward; we were going to cross the border to the old Roman fort to visit Albanians. Wolfe had explained it all to me before we had entered the cave to hit the hay, including Pasic’s strategy with the dog. No doubt that had influenced my dream.
“Good morning,” Wolfe said. He was sitting on a rock, looking exactly the way I felt.