Sentence
The Fivehundredandninetieth
“What’s your
name? “asked Palestrina, “can we send for anyone? “and the man,
looking as though he considered Palestrina a stickybeak, said: “it’s
too late for that, I’ve blown it and all Hell’s gonna break
loose! sorry, ma'am, for the language,”: don’t fret, Pet,
I’ve heard much worse on my peregrinations hither and thither,"
and the man sat still while his head was bandaged then said: “I’m
J Alfred Prufrock and I have just received confirmation of something
but missed the chance to communicate with my Masters,” and
Palestrina flashed a look at Gertie and whispered: ^I think he’s a
spy, that chap Smiley my brother knows is in the SOE and refers to
‘his Masters’ in just that same way, “but don’t you think
he’s an American? that J Alfred thing, like J Edgar Hoover, and J
Arthur Rank, and J Walter Thomson, and J Robert Oppenheimer ?"
but Pal replied: "never heard of him," and
Gertie reminded herself to be on the qui vive for any other
chronological slip-ups, but Palestrina asked the man: "can you
tell us what's wrong, we might be able to help you fix it?" and
he shook his head: "the Tankies are on the move – that's what
we call the German Freikorps, ultra-nationalist supporters
of Hitler," and as the doctor glanced at him,
he put his finger to his lips with a "hush!" and
Gertie
whispered to Pal: "is it maybe because they've got Jewish names,
like Joshua or Judah or Jacob or Joseph," and Pal laughed her
tinkling laugh, "pish on that one, darling, remember Joseph
Goebbels and Joseph Stalin? no I suspect it is something
more like their first names are
Joanna or J
essica!" and they
laughed together, then, suddenly, Prufrock seized Pal's wrist and
spoke fiercely: "you must get the message through - they're
watching me, but who would suspect you two?" and as Pal stared
back at him, he reeled of a stream of information at breakneck speed,
and then when he stopped, he asked Pal if she could remember anything
of it: "every
word, Ducks, I’ve got the phonographic equivalent of a photographic
memory, just tell me where I
have to go and who I have to see."
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