"What emotions you must have experienced, Madame!" he said, after enquiring tenderly as to whether the room reserved suited her, and turning on all the electric lights quite unnecessarily. "But what an escape! What a miracle! What good fortune. Only three survivors, I understand, and one of them in a critical condition still."
Hilary sank down on a chair wearily.
"Yes, indeed," she murmured. "I can hardly believe it myself. Even now I can remember so little. The last twenty-four hours before the crash are still quite vague to me."
The manager nodded sympathetically.
"Ah, yes. That is the result of the concussion. That happened once to a sister of mine. She was in London in the war. A bomb came, she was knocked unconscious. But presently she gets up, she walks about London and she takes a train from the station of Euston and, figurez-vous, she wakes up at Liverpool and she cannot remember anything of the bomb, of going across London, of the train or of getting there! The last thing she remembers is hanging up her skirt in the wardrobe in London. Very curious these things, are they not?"
Hilary agreed that they were, indeed. The manager bowed and departed. Hilary got up and looked at herself in the glass. So imbued was she now with her new personality that she positively felt the weakness in her limbs which would be natural to one who had just come out of hospital after a severe ordeal.
She had already enquired at the desk, but there had been no messages or letters for her there. The first steps in her new role had to be taken very much in the dark. Olive Betterton might perhaps have been told to ring a certain number or to contact a certain person at Casablanca. As to that there was no clue. All the knowledge she had to go on was Olive Betterton's passport, her letter of credit, and her book of Cook's tickets and reservations. These provided for two days in Casablanca, six days in Fez and five days in Marrakesh. These reservations were now, of course, out of date, and would have to be dealt with accordingly. The passport, the Letter of Credit and the accompanying Letter of Identification had been suitably dealt with. The photograph on the passport was now that of Hilary, the signature on the Letter of Credit was Olive Betterton in Hilary's handwriting. Her credentials were all in order. Her task was to play her part adequately and to wait. Her master card must be the plane accident, and its resultant loss of memory and general haziness.
It had been a genuine accident and Olive Betterton had been genuinely on board the plane. The fact of concussion would adequately cover her failure to adopt any measures in which she might have been instructed. Bewildered, dazed, weak, Olive Betterton would await orders.
The natural thing to do would be to rest. Accordingly she lay down on the bed. For two hours she went over in her mind all that she had been taught. Olive's luggage had been destroyed in the plane. Hilary had a few things with her supplied at the hospital. She passed a comb through her hair, touched her lips with a lipstick and went down to the hotel dining room for dinner.
She was looked at, she noticed, with a certain amount of interest. There were several tables occupied by business men and these hardly vouchsafed a glance at her. But at other tables, clearly occupied by tourists, she was conscious of a murmur and a whisper going on.
"That woman over there - the one with the red hair - she's a survivor of the plane crash, my dear. Yes, came from hospital in an ambulance. I saw her arrive. She looks terribly ill still. I wonder if they ought to have let her out so soon. What a frightful experience. What a merciful escape!"
After dinner Hilary sat for a short while in the small formal salon. She wondered if anyone would approach her in any way. There were one or two other women scattered about the room, and presently a small, plump, middle-aged woman with well-blued white hair, moved to a chair near hers. She opened proceedings in a brisk, pleasant American voice.
"I do hope you'll excuse me, but I just felt I had to say a word. It's you, isn't it, who had the wonderful escape from that air crash the other day?"
Hilary put down the magazine she was reading.
"Yes," she said.
"My! Isn't that terrible? The crash I mean. Only three survivors, they say. Is that right?"
"Only two," said Hilary. "One of the three died in hospital."
"My! You don't say! Now, if you don't mind my asking, Miss - Mrs..."
"Betterton."
"Well, if you don't mind my asking, just where were you sitting in that plane? Were you up at the front or near the tail?"
Hilary knew the answer to that one and gave it promptly.
"Near the tail."
"They always say, don't they, that's the safest place. I just insist now on always having a place near the rear doors. Did you hear that, Miss Hetherington?" She turned her head to include another middle-aged lady. This one was uncompromisingly British with a long, sad, horselike face. "It's just as I was saying the other day. Whenever you go into an aeroplane, don't you let those air hostesses take you right up to the front."
"I suppose someone has to sit at the front," said Hilary.
"Well, it won't be me," said her new American friend promptly. "My name's Baker, by the way, Mrs. Calvin Baker."
Hilary acknowledged the introduction and Mrs. Baker plunged on, monopolising the conversation easily.
"I've just come here from Mogador and Miss Hetherington has come from Tangier. We became acquainted here. Are you going to visit Marrakesh, Mrs. Betterton?"
"I'd arranged to do so," said Hilary. "Of course, this accident has thrown out all my time schedule."
"Why, naturally, I can see that. But you really mustn't miss Marrakesh, wouldn't you say so, Miss Hetherington?"
"Marrakesh is terribly expensive," said Miss Hetherington. "This miserable travel allowance makes everything so difficult."
"There's a wonderful hotel, the Mamounia," continued Mrs. Baker.
"Wickedly expensive," said Miss Hetherington. "Out of the question for me. Of course, it's different for you, Mrs. Baker - dollars, I mean. But someone gave me the name of a small hotel there, really very nice and clean, and the food, they say, is not at all bad."
"Where else do you plan to go, Mrs. Betterton?" asked Mrs. Calvin Baker.
"I would like to see Fez," said Hilary, cautiously. "I shall have to get fresh reservations, of course."
"Oh, yes, you certainly oughtn't to miss Fez or Rabat."
"You've been there?"
"Not yet. I'm planning to go there shortly, and so is Miss Hetherington."
"I believe the old city is quite unspoilt," said Miss Hetherington.
The conversation continued in desultory fashion for some time further. Then Hilary pleaded fatigue from her first day out of the hospital and went up to her bedroom.
The evening so far had been quite indecisive. The two women who had talked to her had been such well-known travelling types that she could hardly believe that they were other than they seemed. Tomorrow, she decided, if she had received no word or communication of any kind, she would go to Cook's and raise the question of fresh reservations at Fez and Marrakesh.
There were no letters, messages or telephone calls the following morning and about eleven o'clock she made her way to the travel agency. There was somewhat of a queue, but when she at last reached the counter and began talking to the clerk, an interruption occurred. A somewhat more senior clerk with glasses elbowed the young man aside. He beamed at Hilary through his glasses.
"It is Madame Betterton, is it not? I have all your reservations made."
"I am afraid," said Hilary, "that they will be out of date. I have been in hospital and..."
"Ah, mais oui, I know all that. Let me congratulate you on your escape, Madame. But I got your telephone message about fresh reservations, and we have them here ready for you."
Hilary felt a faint quickening of her pulse. As far as she knew no one had phoned the travel agency. Here then were definite signs that Olive Betterton's travelling arrangements were being supervised. She said,
"I wasn't sure if they had telephoned or not."
"But yes, Madame. Here, I will show you."
He produced railway tickets, and vouchers for hotel accommodation, and a few minutes later the transactions were completed. Hilary was to leave for Fez on the following day.
Mrs. Calvin Baker was not in the restaurant either for lunch or dinner. Miss Hetherington was. She acknowledged Hilary's bow as the latter passed to her table, but made no attempt to get into conversation with her. On the following day, after making some necessary purchases of clothes and underclothing, Hilary left by train for Fez.
III
It was on the day of Hilary's departure that Mrs. Calvin Baker coming into the hotel in her usual brisk fashion, was accosted by Miss Hetherington whose long thin nose was quivering with excitement.
"I've remembered about the name Betterton - the disappearing scientist. It was in all the papers. About two months ago."
"Why, now I do remember something. A British scientist - yes - he'd been at some conference in Paris."
"Yes - that's it. Now I wonder, do you think - this could possibly be his wife. I looked in the register and I see her address is Harwell - Harwell, you know, is the Atom Station. I do think all these atom bombs are very wrong. And Cobalt. Such a lovely colour in one's paint-box and I used it a lot as a child; the worst of all, I understand nobody can survive. We weren't meant to do these experiments. Somebody told me the other day that her cousin who is a very shrewd man, said the whole world might go radio-active."
"My, my," said Mrs. Calvin Baker.
Chapter 6
Casablanca had vaguely disappointed Hilary by being such a prosperous-looking French town with no hint of the orient or mystery about it, except for the crowds in the streets.
The weather was still perfect, sunny and clear, and she enjoyed looking out of the train at the passing landscape as they journeyed northward. A small Frenchman who looked like a commercial traveller sat opposite to her, in the far corner was a somewhat disapproving-looking nun telling her beads, and two Moorish ladies with a great many packages who conversed gaily with one another, completed the complement of the carriage. Offering a light for her cigarette, the little Frenchman opposite soon entered into conversation. He pointed out things of interest as they passed, and gave her various information about the country. She found him interesting and intelligent.
"You should go to Rabat, Madame. It is a great mistake not to go to Rabat."
"I shall try to do so. But I have not very much time. Besides," she smiled. "Money is short. We can only take so much with us abroad, you know."
"But that is simple. One arranges with a friend here."
"I'm afraid I haven't got a convenient friend in Morocco."
"Next time you travel, Madame, send me a little word. I will give you my card. And I arrange everything. I travel often in England on business and you repay me there. It is all quite simple."
"That's very kind of you, and I hope I shall pay a second visit to Morocco."
"It must be a change for you, Madame, to come here from England. So cold, so foggy, so disagreeable."
"Yes, it's a great change."
"I, too, I travelled from Paris three weeks ago. It was then fog, rain and all of the most disgusting. I arrive here and all is sunshine. Though, mind you, the air is cold. But it is pure. Good pure air. How was the weather in England when you left?"
"Much as you say," said Hilary. "Fog."
"Ah yes, it is the foggy season. Snow - you have had snow this year?"
"No," said Hilary, "there has been no snow." She wondered to herself, amusedly, if this much-travelled little Frenchman was following what he considered to be the correct trend of English conversation, dealing principally with the weather. She asked him a question or two about the political situation in Morocco and in Algiers, and he responded willingly, showing himself to be well informed.
Glancing across at the far corner, Hilary observed the nun's eyes fixed disapprovingly on her. The Moroccan ladies got out and other travellers got in. It was evening when they arrived at Fez.
"Permit me to assist you, Madame."
Hilary was standing, rather bewildered at the bustle and noise of the station. Arab porters were seizing her luggage from her hands, shouting, yelling, calling, recommending different hotels. She turned gratefully to her new French acquaintance.
"You are going to the Palais Jamail, n'est-ce-pas, Madame?"
"Yes."
"That is right. It is eight kilometres from here, you understand."
"Eight kilometres?" Hilary was dismayed. "It's not in the town, then."
"It is by the old town," the Frenchman explained. "Me, I stay here at the hotel in the commercial new city. But for the holiday, the rest, the enjoyment, naturally you go to the Palais Jamail. It was a former residence, you understand, of the Moroccan nobility. It has beautiful gardens, and you go straight from it into the old city of Fez which is untouched. It does not seem as though the hotel had sent to meet this train. If you permit, I will arrange for a taxi for you."
"You're very kind, but..."
The Frenchman spoke in rapid Arabic to the porters and shortly afterwards Hilary took her place in a taxi, her baggage was pushed in, and the Frenchman told her exactly what to give the rapacious porters. He also dismissed them with a few sharp words of Arabic when they protested that the remuneration was inadequate. He whipped a card from his pocket and handed it to her.
"My card, Madame, and if I can be of assistance to you at any time, tell me. I shall be at the Grand Hotel here for the next four days."
He raised his hat and went away. Hilary looked down at the card which she could just see before they moved out of the lighted station.
MONSIEUR HENRI LAURIER
