Two days later. A corner of the lounge in the Hotel Metropole. Copenhagen. Basket chairs. tea tables and a sofa.
The Old Woman is discovered, now dressed as a middle-aged English spinster – intensely respectable and uninteresting. She wears spectacles and spends her time knitting. Enter the dumb man no longer dumb but with a strong American accent. He wears horn spectacles and is a doctor.
O.W. Well, doctor – and how’s your patient progressing?
Dumb. It’s a curious case, Miss Cave. One of the most curious cases in my experience. I saw a good deal of shell shock in France in ’17 and ’18, but never a case quite like this. Of course, the trouble has been exaggerated by recent worries and anxieties but even taking that into consideration, I should say it is unique.
O.W. In what way ?
Dumb. Well, I must give you a short history of the case as I have heard it from my patient’s sister. He was wounded in ’16 on the Eastern front and was invalided home; his sister noticed that he was then in a highly nervous state – would start at noises the usual symptoms of incipient shell shock. She was not unnaturally worried about him when he had to return to the Front. Three months later he was invalided out of the army; for a long time he was almost out of his mind. She and his servant nursed him through this critical stage, but just as he was recovering, the revolution broke out. This became an obsession with him; he saw enemies and spies everywhere. At first the villagers on his estate were hardly affected, but instead of treating them in a friendly way, as he had done before, he grew more and more distant, shut himself up and would admit no one to his house. If I’m not mistaken, Miss Cave, it was this which caused the attack on his house.
O.W. Dear me! Was his house attacked?
(Looking at her in astonishment. Then understanding.) Of course – you’re right. You know nothing about that.
O.W. Not even in an empty room.
Dumb. Yes – I hear his house was attacked by a furious mob.
O.W. Of course I know very little about shell shook. But what is peculiar about your patient’s case?
Dumb. There are two points of interest. The first is that now he doesn’t mind noise – but he can’t bear silence. The other is that he talks incessantly about the eyes of a lame wolf. He seems scared out of his wits in these outbursts.
O.W. Poor man! Is he at all violent?
Dumb. No, no. I can generally quiet him down. He seems to have taken rather a fancy to me. But he can’t endure to be left alone – either his sister or his servant or I must always be with him.
(Redbeard and Blind stroll in, now immaculately dressed as a young Englishman and Frenchman.)
Blind. Waiter! What will you have, Jack?
Red. One small absinthe. (Enter Waiter.)
Blind. Two large absinthes, if you please.
Waiter. Thank you, sir. (Exit Waiter.)
O.W. (Before waiter has gone out.) Good afternoon, M. de Lorgny.
Blind. Oh, I beg your pardon. Miss Cave, is it not? Allow me to introduce to you my good friend, Mr. Cameron.
O.W. So glad to meet you.
Red. How do you do?
(Enter Waiter with glasses.)
O.W. Dr. Pike, M. de Lorgny, Mr. Cameron.
Dumb. Pleased to know you, gentlemen.
Waiter. One krone, if you please, sir. (Blind pays.)
O.W. Shall we have some tea, Dr. Pike? I shall be so gad if you will join me.
Dumb. I shall be most happy, Miss Cave. Thank you.
O.W. Waiter.
Waiter. Madame?
O.W. Will you bring me some tea, please for two.
Waiter. Very good, Madame.
O.W. Do you prefer China or Ceylon, Dr. Pike?
Dumb. It’s quite immaterial to me, thank you.
O.W. Well, let’s say China. You have China tea, I suppose?
Waiter. The China tea pot. But certainly, madame.
O.W. No, no, China tea.
Waiter. Ah! The Chinese tea. Yes, Madame. Cakes Madame?
O.W. Do you care for cakes, Mr. Pike?
Dumb. Anything. Anything.
O.W. Yes, cakes, please. (Exit waiter.) Now to business. China tea means five minutes. We sail tonight at eight o’clock. Dr. Pike gets the Prince and Princess down to the quay in a taxi – I go down in another taxi – we are supposed only to know one another slightly.
Red. Our orders are to be at the quay at 7.50. The dinghy is to pick us up.
O.W. Someone may come in at any moment. Don’t forget we are casual acquaintances – not a party of conspirators. (They laugh.)
Blind. The Prince? How is he?
Dumb. I’m worried about him. I shall have a tiptop brain man to see him, when we get to England.
Blind. And the Princess ?
Dumb. She’s none the worse. Spends most of her time with her brother.
Blind. But, isn’t she wonderful? Her sangfroid, her endurance, her courage! Magnifique!
Dumb. Yes – she’s some girl. We may have some trouble getting the Prince to start this evening: he’s got a queer notion into his head that he wants to stay here several days. He’s not a good sailor. (Enter waiter. Blind sees him.)
Blind. It is very unpleasant, the mal de mer. I recollect myself of one occasion –
O.W. Please let us talk about something else before tea; M. de Lorgny.
Dumb. I quite agree, Miss Cave. I remember one voyage in the Oceanic –
O.W. You won’t be able to eat so many cakes, if you do remember it, Dr. Pike. Do you like it weak or strong?
Dumb. Fairly strong, please, with very little milk .
O.W. Sugar?
Dumb. Three lumps, please.
O.W. Where are you staying, M. de Lorgny?
Blind. At the Grand Hotel du Nord.
Red. Well, sir, I hope you will look in and see me when you are next in London. Here’s my card.
Dumb. Thank you. I shall be most happy.
(The waiter has now retired again.)
O.W. We had better divide up again. It is unnatural for two young men to talk for more than five minutes with such an uninteresting old maid as I look. Au revoir.
(They both bow and return to table were absinthe is.)
Red. I’m not yet used to playing so many parts in so few days. (Lame enters quietly and sits on sofa.) And now I’m supposed to be myself, I make mistakes.
(The Lame Man is now a cockney Jew, still slightly lame.)
Blind. You will find it quite easy soon. I ‘ave been at it longer than you. The whole secret of it is contained in the grey Shadow’s instructions. “To maintain any part successfully, the disguise must be kept up in public and in private. If you are passing yourself off as a German, you must eat like a German, go to bed like a German, sleep like a German, wake up like a German – and if need be die like a German. You must be a German when you are alone, just as much as when you are in a crowd. Otherwise you are bound to forget sometimes and give yourself away.” That has been an enormous help to me: it is the secret of disguise in a nutshell.
(Fur. enters and sits watching Dumb. Lame watches Fur.)
Red. Yes, the Grey Shadow knows his work. I love the next instruction: “The safest place to discuss important secrets is in a public room where crowds are talking all round you. You are much less likely to be overheard so, than in a room with the door locked.” That’s so very true.
(Lame man advances. Lame watches effect on Fur.)
Lame. I beg your pardon, gentlemen, I could not help overhearing some scraps of your conversation. I gather you are discussing the everlasting subject.
Blind. The Grey Shadow – yes – Do you suppose all the stories about him are true?
Lame. I always allow about 50% for exaggeration. But I happen to know something about him. Some business friends of mine were rescued by him a year ago and are now safely in England. He is undoubtedly a genius – and the work he is doing is magnificent.
Red. Wonderful.
Lame. Yes – I fancy that the Soviet spies would give a good deal to discover who he is. Perhaps you know him?
Red. Oh no. I only know what everyone else knows.
Lame. And that is nothing at all.
Blind. Perhaps you ‘ave more up your sleeve than you ‘ave yet told us, Sir. Doubtless your friends ‘ave given you some hint.
Lame. No, no. They have told me nothing. I have heard the usual stories; the most attractive to me is that he is an English Lord.
Dumb. That seems to me amazingly unlikely, sir. You’ll excuse me butting in – but the topic is one of absorbing interest. Surely, one of the hereditary legislators of the old country could not be absent from England for long periods at a time without being missed from the House of Lords.
Red. Well. I don’t know so much about that. I have one or two friends who have seats in the Upper House, but I don’t think they have ever been inside the place.
Dumb. There may be some members of your aristocracy who have not a full appreciation of their responsibilities. But if the tales of the Grey Shadow are correct, he is not a man of that type.
Lame. There is another idea that the Workers in the Mist, as I believe his followers call themselves, are a party of students from Cambridge University.
O.W. I can’t believe that, sir. I lived in Cambridge for some years and the undergraduates appeared to me a most irresponsible set of young men – quite fast in fact. My nephew is at Oxford: he tells me that the tone there is quite different.
Blind. Is it yet certain that this Grey Shadow is English?
O.W. Oh, I think he must be, M. de Lorgny.
Blind. But why not French?
O.W. All one hears of him is so essentially English – his pluck – his dogged determination, his love of adventure – his unselfish sense of service.
Dumb. I have known Englishmen without those qualities, Miss Cave.
Blind. And there are some Frenchmen who ‘ave them.
Red. Alphonse is trying to make us believe he’s the Grey Shadow himself.
Lame. One suggestion seems to me quite possible – that he is himself a Russian aristocrat who is posing as a supporter of the Revolution. In other words, he seldom or never leaves Russia at all and organises the escapes on the spot, entrusting the convoy duties to his followers.
Fur. (Walking up) That would surely be very difficult. (Having rung.) I hope you will forgive a complete stranger for Joining into your conversation. Is it possible that a Russian noble could escape detection by the Soviet Secret Service? It is a very able service, sir, and a very active one.
Lame. After all, someone has eluded them: it is quite as likely to be a Russian as an Englishman.
O.W. I don’t think so, M. –
Lame. Cohen.
(Waiter enters.)
Fur. Bring me some tea, with lemon.
Waiter. Thank you, sir. Cakes, sir?
Fur. No cakes, thank you. (Waiter turns away.)
Lame. Oh, waiter.
Waiter. Yes, sir.
Lame. The same for me, please. Perhaps you will allow me to join you at tea, sir. (Exit Waiter.)
Fur. Certainly. I shall be very glad.
Lame. (to Dumb.) You have not yet expressed an opinion, sir – who do you think the Grey Shadow is?
Fur. You take a great interest in the Grey Shadow.
Lame. Like everybody else. I have my own work of course – but I spend my spare time speculating about the Grey Shadow and the Workers in the Mist. I find it even more absorbing than crossword puzzles. (To Dumb.) What do you think?
Dumb. Well, sir, like everyone else, I have my pet theory. the fellow seems to be audacious, very cute and full of pep, also he has great powers of organisation and a cosmopolitan experience. All these facts point to his being an American.
(Waiter enters with tea for Fur. and Lame. They pay and he retires.)
O.W. It’s curious that everyone claims him as their own fellow countryman, when he’s known to be English.
Fur. You know it?
O.W. Well, of course. I read it some days ago in “The Daily Mail.”
Red. That’s proved, then. (Dance music off.) Come and dance, Alphonse. We can probably find some partners.
Blind. I think not. I do not feel like dancing.
(Enter Princess and Prince escorted by Ivan. Dumb. meets them and directs Ivan.)
Dumb. Put the cushions in this chair, Ivan. (Ivan and Lez. arrange them.) You’re feeling more yourself, I hope?
Boris. Thank you. I am better, but it was so quiet upstairs. I thought I might hear the dance music, if I was to come down.
Dumb. Quite, quite. You’ll be very comfortable here. Have you had tea, Miss Vladimir?
Lez. Yes, we have had it before we come down.
Lame. Who are the American gentleman’s friends?
O.W. A M. and Miss Vladimir. He’s Dr. Pike’s patient. A shell shock case, I’m afraid, poor man.
Lame. Russian, I suppose ?
O.W. Yes.
Lame. Aristocrats? (Ivan overhears, looks suspicious and exit.)
O.W. I really don’t know. They are very nice people. The girl is charming. I’ve made quite friends with her already.
Blind. You know her, Miss Cave? What about dancing, Jack?
Red. I proposed it just now.
Blind. Did you? Well, I propose it now. Miss Cave, I wonder if you could be so kind as to introduce me to Miss Vladimir?
O.W. Of course. Miss Vladimir, I want to introduce M. de Lorgny to you.
Lez. How do you do?
Blind. Would you care to come and dance in the next room, Miss Vladimir.
Lez. Oh, I should love it.
Blind. (Introducing.) My friend, Mr. Jack Cameron. He does not care to dance.
Red. Well, I’m –
Blind. Coming to look on. Yes, do, old boy.
(Exeunt Lezinka and Blind, followed by Redbeard.)
Boris. Doctor, where is Lezinka gone?
Dumb. She’s gone to dance, Mr. Vladimir. There’s a very good floor in the next room.
Boris. I should like to dance. But my head is so aching.
Dumb. The voyage will do you good. There’s no better pick-me-up than sea air.
Boris. At what o’clock do we sail ?
Dumb. Eight o’clock.
Boris. Does the English lady – Miss Cave – sail with us?
Dumb. I believe your sister asked her to. Now, it would be better for you not to talk too much. You’re tired.
Boris. I’m glad that she will come with us. She has been a good friend to Lezinka. (Dumb. reads paper.)
Lame. You are going with them?
O.W. Yes, Miss Vladimir asked me to this morning. So kind of her. You see they have a private yacht, it will be much more comfortable than the ordinary steamer.
Fur. Certainly. It’s very pleasant for you.
Lame. Now here’s my latest theory. Mr. and Miss Vladimir are aristocrats being carried off to safety.
Fur. And the Grey Shadow?
Lame. Dr. Pike, of course.
O.W. Rather too substantial, don’t you think?
Lame. There’s the genius of it. No one would ever take him for a shadow.
O.W. I wonder if you can be right. You know, Mr. Cohen, my constant thought when I go into an Hotel or Restaurant is “Perhaps the Grey Shadow is here.” I long to be in the same room with the heroic mystery man.
Fur. Perhaps your wish will be gratified some day, Madam.
(During the last few lines Lame has taken out a cigar and has walked over to table near Boris.)
Boris. (To Dumb.) Don’t let him come near me. Send him away.
Dumb. Keep cool, sir. What’s agitating you?
Boris. He’s lame! Lame, do you hear?
Dumb. (To Lame.) I hope you’ll forgive my patient, sir. He’s not quite himself.
Lame. He seems to be a bit upset by my gouty leg.
Boris. It’s the lame wolf! Take him away, Doctor. He’s come to kill me.
(Dumb. rings bell.)
Lame. Nonsense, Mr. Vladimir. I don’t want to do you any harm.
Boris. Look at his eyes! He said I should see their eyes glaring, as his were glaring then. I escaped him then – so he has come to hunt me down and kill me.
Dumb. Come, come, Mr. Vladimir. Don’t let your imagination run away with you. (Enter waiter.) Ask Mr. Vladimir’s servant to come here at once.
Waiter. Very good, sir. (Exit waiter.)
Boris. You told me I was safe – but the wolf was on the trail, the lame wolf, the wolf with the glaring eyes.
Dumb. My dear Mr. Vladimir – this is Mr. Cohen of London. You have never seen or heard of him before.
Lame. Mr. Abe Cohen – 26 Sussex Gardens and 55 Threadneedle Street. Here’s my card.
Boris. It’s a lie – you are the lame wolf of Kroskov. But I escaped from you then – and I will escape from you again. The Grey Shadow will protect me.
Lame. (To Fur.) Poor fellow – he’s bitten by the craze too. Unless my theory is correct and he really has been rescued by the Grey Shadow.
O.W. It might be so. I’m feeling quite excited.
Dumb. (Gives Tabloid to Boris.) Take this. It will make you feel better.
Boris. (Moaning.) It’s the lame wolf. Don’t let him come near me, Doctor. Take him away.
Dumb. (To Lame.) I’m very sorry, sir, but it would be a real kindness if you would go into the smoking-room or somewhere. My patient’s condition is rather precarious and your presence does seem to excite him some.
Lame. Oh, that’s all right, Doctor. A business man is used to rebuff. I’ve been called some hard names before now – but never a lame wolf. (Exit Lame.)
Boris. Has he gone?
Dumb. Yes, yes. Quite gone.
Boris. He went away before – but he has followed me here – he will pursue me – all my life – all my life – until he ends it.
(Enter Ivan.)
Dumb. Ivan, take your master up to his room, and keep him as quiet as you can. I’ll be up in a moment.
Ivan. He has been excited again?
Boris. Ivan – Ivan, my friend. The lame wolf was here – kill him for me, Ivan, before he kills me.
Ivan. Of course I will, sir. Now it is time for you to come up to your room again.
(Boris submits like a little child and is led off by Ivan – muttering as he goes.)
Dumb. Queer start that, Miss Cave.
O.W. Yes – fancy his minding that harmless old person.
Fur. A man in his condition sees wonderfully clearly at times.
Dumb. I hope he will be well enough to sail to-night. I hear you are coming with us, Miss Cave.
O.W. Yes, Miss Vladimir asked me to. I must go and pack. (to Fur.) Good afternoon, Mr. ... (her voice trails off.)
Fur. Good afternoon, Madam, I hope I shall have the pleasure of meeting you again.
O.W. Oh, thank you. Yes, I hope so. (Exit O.W.)
Dumb. If you’ll excuse me, sir, I had better go up to my patient.
Fur. Oh, don’t let me detain you. Good afternoon, sir. I wonder which of us will be the first to solve the mystery of the Grey Shadow.
Dumb. Yes, I wonder.
(Exit Dumb. Fur looks after him meditatively, takes out cigar and lights it. Waiter enters to clear tea. Fur watches him for a minute, before speaking.)
Fur. The hotel seems very empty, waiter.
Waiter. Yes, sir. This is never a busy season, sir.
Fur. You have some interesting people here, though.
Waiter. Yes, sir?
Fur. Well, they interest me because I study human nature.
Waiter. (Clearing all the time.) Quite so, sir.
Fur. The Russian gentleman seems in a very curious state.
Waiter. Yes, sir, so I’ve heard, sir.
Fur. When did that party arrive?
Waiter. Yesterday afternoon, sir.
Fur. Did Miss Cave come with them?
Waiter. Pardon, sir.
Fur. The English lady.
Waiter. Oh yes, sir. No, sir.
Fur. What do you mean by “Yes, sir. No, sir.”
Waiter. She did not come with them, sir.
Fur. Oh. When did she come?
Waiter. Later in the evening, sir. I believe she came from Stockholm, sir.
Fur. Why you think that?
Waiter. She said so, sir.
Fur. The American gentleman, Dr. Pike, is a pleasant man, I should think.
Waiter. Oh, very affable, sir.
Fur. He is in charge of the party, I take it?
Waiter. Yes, sir, I believe so. He ordered the dinner, sir.
(The waiter carries out one tray and returns.)
Fur. The two gentlemen who were drinking absinthe – are they staying in the hotel?
Waiter. No, sir.
Fur. What did they come in for?
Waiter. For the absinthe, sir.
Fur. You don’t know if they knew Dr. Pike’s party before?
Waiter. I couldn’t say, sir, I’m sure.
Fur. They were talking to them.
Waiter. Yes sir, but pardon me, sir, one of them is French. Very amiable people the French, sir.
Fur. Very. (Waiter turns up with other tray.) Oh, waiter.
Waiter. Sir?
Fur. Who is the Jewish gentleman?
Waiter. Mr. Cohen, sir.
Fur. Has he been here before?
Waiter. Oh yes, sir. We’ve seen a good deal of him in the last year or two, sir.
Fur. What is he?
Waiter. I believe he travels in furs, sir.
Fur. Ah – trades with Russia, no doubt.
Waiter. I couldn’t say, sir.
Fur. Thank you, waiter.
Waiter. Thank you, sir.
(Exit Waiter. As he is going Ivan enters to fetch cushions.)
Fur. Ivan.
Ivan. Sir.
Fur. You recognise me?
Ivan. Undoubtedly!
Fur. You arrived yesterday?
Ivan. Yesterday afternoon.
Fur. Who was on the boat?
Ivan. Dr. Pike, the Prince and Princess.
Fur. Sh! Mr. and Mrs. Vladimir.
(Lame is standing unobserved in opening at back.)
Ivan. Mr. and Mrs. Vladimir – Miss Cave – Mr. Cameron and the young Frenchman.
Fur. Oh – they were there?
Ivan. But certainly.
Fur. The two young men are not staying in the Hotel.
Ivan. No – they do not wish to be thought to belong to the party. Miss Cave also came separately to the hotel.
Fur. So I hear. When do you sail?
Ivan. At eight o’clock.
Fur. The whole party together?
Ivan. I believe so.
Fur. You have not identified the Grey Shadow yet? (Smiling.)
Ivan. No. Sometimes I think Dr. Pike – sometimes the Frenchman. We shall find out when we get to England.
Fur. It will interest me to hear. Let me have a line when you find out.
Ivan. I must go back to my master.
Fur. One moment, Ivan. Who’s that man Cohen?
Ivan. I’ve never seen him before.
Fur. Nothing to do with our party ?
Ivan. Nothing.
Fur. You’re quite sure ?
Ivan. Who can be sure of anything ?
Fur. I don’t trust Cohen. He is not what he pretends to be.
Ivan. You see enemies everywhere.
Fur. Well, keep your eye on him. Your master knew him.
Ivan. My – master – knew – him?
Fur. He called him the lame wolf of Kroskov.
Ivan. I shall ask my master. I must go now – he will miss me.
Fur. Let me know how things go. I shall continue to feel a friendly interest in the Vladimirs and in their rescuer – the Grey Shadow.
(Ivan turns to [exit] as Lame comes down. Ivan glances searchingly at him. Lame quite unconscious of scrutiny. Ivan exit.)
Lame. (Sitting on sofa by Fur.) You seem to take as much interest in the Grey Shadow as I do.
Fur. You overheard our conversation?
Lame. Just the last few words – I always pricks up my ears when I hear any mention of the Grey Shadow. It may amuse you to know that I’ve got several bets that I’ll find out his name in the next six months.
Fur. Indeed. I hope you’ll win them. Have a cigar?
Lame. Thank you. (Takes one. Fur lights it.) It’s extraordinary what one picks up, if one keeps one’s eyes and ears open. Just to give you an example: I’ve been in the ballroom and I remarked to someone that I’d met you in here. What do you think he said?
Fur. That I was the Grey Shadow, perhaps?
Lame. No, not quite that. He told me you were a Russian aristocrat in disguise.
Fur. How very peculiar.
Lame. Yes – that was what I thought. (Slight pause.) Funny that chap Vladimir taking such a dislike to my gouty leg.
Fur. Yes.
Lame. Yes. I’ve knocked about a good bit. But I never remember being called a lame wolf before. (yawns.)
Fur. There is generally some reason in insanity.
Lame. Now what do you mean by that. Are you trying to be nasty ? (Yawns.) Hang it : I’m getting most confoundedly sleepy. Have you been – giving me – doped cigar ? (Looks vacantly at it.) What did you – want – to do that for? (Topples down on sofa.)
Fur. (Smiles.) There, Mr. Cohen – that’ll keep you safe for 12 hours. (Rapidly searches him. Finds a number of unimportant articles – but nothing of interest. He has first arranged him, as if he was having a nap on the sofa. Finding nothing.) Curse – I hope you’ll have a nice nap, Mr. Cohen. (Exit Fur.)
(After a short pause enter Lezinka and Blind.)
Blind. You dance like an angel, Miss Vladimir.
Lez. I thought they spent their time singing.
Blind. And playing harps.
Lez. I must really go to get ready for the voyage.
Blind. Oh – not yet, Miss Vladimir. It’s only half past five. Is it not strange that we have only known one another since two days. I seem to have known you always.
Lez. I have neglected my brother too long. I must go and relieve Dr. Pike.
Blind. Don’t go yet – please. It’s a doctor’s business to attend to the sick. And I ‘ave something I must say to you. Lezinka –
(A stertorous snore from the sofa recalls him to the realities of life.)
Lez. The old gentleman seems to be enjoying his nap.
(Something in Lame’s attitude arrests Blind’s attention. He goes up and looks at him.)
Blind. Mr. Cohen! (Shakes him.) Mr. Cohen! (Lame mutters incoherently.) Lezinka, I don’t want to alarm you but this man’s been drugged.
Lez. Drugged! Oh, but why?
Blind. Never mind why. Run upstairs and ask Dr. Pike to come down at once. Tell him what has happened.
(Exit Lezinka. Blind goes just outside door and calls softly.) Jack, Jack. (Then returns to sofa and quickly searches Lame.)
(Enter Redbeard.)
Red. Hullo! What’s wrong?
Blind. Come here a minute. (Red. does so.) The old man’s been doped.
Red. Well I’m ...
(Enter Dumb – followed by Ivan, who stands away from group by sofa. Dumb must enter in time to interrupt Red’s remark.)
Dumb. My old friend Cohen. (He makes a rapid examination while the others remain silent.) Holy Moses! Now who on earth should want to dope our harmless old Hebrew? (Pause.)
(Blind more concerned than the others who are faintly amused.)
Ivan. It is better so.
Dumb. Now, why on earth ...
Red. My good man, why?
Ivan. This man is our enemy.
CURTAIN