Jack Higgins - Chavasse 02 Read Online Free PDF Page B

man in his seventies who wore gold-rimmed spectacles and studied the chessboard intently.
    The other, at first sight, might have been any high Civil Service official. The well-cut, dark grey suit, the old Etonian tie, even the greying hair, all seemed a part of the familiar brand image.
    It was only when he turned his head sharply and looked up that the difference became apparent. This was the face of no ordinary man. Here was a supremely intelligent being, with the cold grey eyes of a man who would be, above all things, a realist.
    â€œI hear you’ve been looking for me,” Chavasse said as he peeled off his wet trench coat.
    The Chief smiled faintly. “That’s putting it mildly. You must have found somewhere new.”
    Chavasse nodded. “The Caravel Club in Great Portland Street. They do a nice steak and there’s a gaming room, chemmy and roulette mostly.”
    â€œIs it worth a visit?”
    â€œNot really,” Chavasse grinned. “Rather boring and too damned expensive. It’s time I saw a little action of another kind.”
    â€œI think we can oblige you, Paul,” the Chief said. “I’d like you to meet Professor Craig, by the way.”
    The old man shook hands and smiled. “So you’re the language expert? I’ve heard a lot about you, young man.”
    â€œAll to the good, I hope?” Chavasse took a cigarette from a box on the coffee table and pulled forward a chair.
    â€œProfessor Craig is chairman of the Joint Space Research Programme recently set up by NATO,” the Chief said. “He’s brought us rather an interesting problem. To be perfectly frank, I think you’re the only available Bureau agent capable of handling it.”
    â€œWell, that’s certainly a flattering beginning,” Chavasse said. “What’s the story?”
    The Chief carefully inserted a Turkish cigarette into an elegent silver holder. “When were you last in Tibet, Paul?”
    Chavasse frowned. “You know that as well as Ido. Three years ago, when we brought out the Dalai Lama.”
    â€œHow would you feel about going in again?”
    Chavasse shrugged. “My Tibetan is still pretty fair. Not fluent, but good enough. It’s the other problems specific to the area which would worry me most. Mainly the fact that I’m a European, I suppose.”
    â€œBut I understood you to say you’d helped out the Dalai Lama three years ago,” Professor Craig said.
    Chavasse nodded. “But that was different. Straight in and out again within a few days. I don’t know how long I could get by if I was there for any period of time. I don’t know if you’re aware of this fact, Professor, but not a single Allied soldier escaped from a Chinese prison camp during the Korean War, and for obvious reasons. Drop me into Russia in suitable clothes and I could pass without question. In a street in Peking, I’d stick out like a sore thumb.”
    â€œFair enough,” the Chief said. “I appreciate your point, but what if we could get round it?”
    â€œThat would still leave the Chinese,” Chavasse told him. “They’ve really tightened up since I was last there. Especially after the Tibetan revolt. Although mind you, I think their control of large areas must be pretty nominal.” He hesitated and then went on, “This thing—is it important?”
    The Chief nodded gravely. “Probably the biggest I’ve ever asked you to handle.”
    â€œYou’d better tell me about it.”
    The Chief leaned back in his chair. “What would you say was the gravest international problem at the moment—the Bomb?”
    Chavasse shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Not anymore, anyway. Probably the space race.”
    The Chief nodded. “I agree, and the fact that John Glenn and those who have followed him have successfully emulated Gagarin and Titov has got our Russian friends