En fin lille tur |
A nice little trip
|
"Daisy, det er mig – Ted, "kriminal-assistent
Singleton ringede til sin yndlings- privatdetektiv. |
"Daisy, it’s me - Ted," Detective-Inspector
Singleton was telephoning his favourite private detective. |
De havde mødt hinanden i forbindelse med en sag og lige
siden havde de gået ud sammen, når arbejdet tillod det. |
They had met on a case and ever since they had been
going out together, when work permitted. |
"Hvordan ser det ud for dig de næste par dage?" |
"How are you fixed for the next few days?" |
Daisy havde drukket et koghedt krus Ovaltine, da det
endnu var en smule køligt i kontoret. |
Daisy had been drinking a boiling hot mug of Ovaltine as
it was still a bit chilly in the office. |
De første blomster tøvede med at komme frem, men der
var en klar sol på himlen. |
The first flowers were hesitating at coming out but
there was a bright sun in the sky. |
"Tja, hr. Floodbridge kommer iaften for at begynde
at hvidte kontoret, så jeg er ledig, når det passer dig. Hvad er der på
programmet, Ted?" |
"Well, Mr. Floodbridge is coming in tonight to
start whitewashing the office, so I’m free whenever you like. What’s
on, Ted?" |
"Jeg tager dig med til Frankrig nu iaften – til
Boulogne, for at se seværdighederne. Er det i orden, at vi kommer tilbage
næste torsdag?" |
"I’m taking you to France this very evening - to
Boulogne, to see the sights. All right to come back next Tuesday?" |
"Det er fint med mig." Daisy gik allerede
igennem sin garderobe i tankerne. |
"That’s fine by me." Daisy was already going
through her wardrobe mentally. |
"Jeg tror, det er lidt varmere i Boulogne end her i
East Anglia." |
"I believe it’s a bit warmer in Boulogne than
here in East Anglia." |
"Ja, det tror jeg det er" svarede Ted. "Hvad
om jeg hentede dig klokken halv otte? Vi skal nå natfærgen – Dovercraft´en
– og vi kan få et dejligt måltid på båden." |
"Yes, I believe it is" replied Ted "What
if I pick you up at half past seven? We’re catching the night ferry -
the Dovercraft - and we can have a nice meal on the boat." |
Ted gjorde en lille pause, som han altid gjorde, når
han følte sig skyldig. |
Ted paused a moment as he always did when he felt guilty. |
"Åh, for resten jeg har ikke mit overskæg mere. |
"Oh, by the way, I haven’t got my moustache any
more. |
I morges havde jeg så travlt, at jeg klippede for meget
af i den ene side og besluttede, at jeg hellere måtte starte helt fra nul
igen." |
This morning I was in such a hurry that I cut too much
off on one side and decided I’d better start again from scratch." |
"Åh nej Ted! Jeg kan ikke forestille mig dig uden
det! Nå, jeg må gå nu, for jeg har noget udsmidningsarbejde at gøre
her." |
"Oh no, Ted! I can’t imagine you without it!
Anyway, I must go now, because I’ve got some throwing-away to do here." |
Daisy så på plakaterne, som hun havde sat op på
væggene – af Ægypten og Israel – og sukkede. |
Daisy looked at the posters she had put up on the walls
- of Egypt and Israel - and sighed. |
"Jeg må klare mig uden dem nu. De er så forrevne
og beskidte. |
"I’ll have to make do without them now. They’re
so torn and dirty. |
Men måske kan jeg få nogle flere fra rejsebureauet.
Nå, men jeg får et dejligt rent kontor at komme tilbage til." |
But maybe I can get some more from the travel agency.
Anyway I’ll have a nice clean office to come back to." |
Hun foretog et par telefonopkald til kunder og en til hr.
Floodbridge, hvidtemanden, for at sikre sig, at han havde kontornøglerne. |
She made a few phone calls to clients and one to Mr.
Floodbridge, the whitewasher, to make sure he had the office keys. |
Så tog hun hjem for at pakke sin Opium parfume, noget
overgangstøj og en varm uldforet regnfrakke. |
Then she made her way home to pack her bottle of Opium
perfume, some mid-season clothes and a warm wool-lined raincoat. |
Daisy havde været ovre på kontinentet flere gange men
aldrig med Ted. |
Daisy had been over to the Continent several times, but
never with Ted. |
Da hun følte sig meget sulten, lavede hun sig en
sandwich med bøftomat og sprængt oksekød. |
As she felt very peckish, she fixed herself a bumper
tomato and corned beef sandwich. |
Kriminal-assistent Morris Singleton ankom præcist til
tiden til deres aftale klokken 19.30. |
Detective-Inspector Morris Singleton arrived perfectly
on time for their appointment at 7.30. |
Daisy stirrede på Ted: "Ved du hvad, du ser meget
pæn ud uden dit overskæg, men jeg tror, jeg foretrækker dig med det." |
Daisy stared at Ted: "You know, you look quite nice
without your moustache, but I think I prefer you with it." |
"I orden," lovede Ted, "jeg vil ikke
barbere det af igen." |
"All right," promised Ted, "I won’t
shave it off again." |
Mens de var på vej til Dover i bil, begyndte det at
regne temmelig kraftigt. |
As they made their way to Dover by car it started to
rain quite heavily. |
"Jeg håber ikke, at det også bliver blæsende,"
bemærkede Ted. |
"Hope it’s not going to be windy as well,"
remarked Ted. |
Da de først var ombord, så de sig omkring på Dovercraft´en. |
Once on board they had a look round the Dovercraft. |
Den toldfri butik var fuld af turister, der købte
sidste-øjeblik-gaver. |
The duty-free shop was full of tourists buying
last-minute presents. |
I et farverigt rum blev små lysvågne børn underholdt
af en tryllekunstner klædt ud som klovn, og deres taknemmelige forældre
fik en "lille en" i den nærliggende salon. |
In a colourful room, small childen were wide awake being
entertained by a magician dressed as a clown, and their grateful parents
were having a ‘quick one’ in the nearby lounge. |
Der var også en restaurant med et meget dyrt præg og
og en meget billigere, fuld af sultne rejsende. |
There was also a restaurant which had the air of being
very expensive and a much cheaper one full of starving travellers. |
Salonen så behagelig ud med store komfortable
lænestole, og for enden af den, var en livlig bar med uophørligt
klirrende glas. |
The lounge looked pleasant with big comfortable
armchairs, and at the end of it there was a lively bar clinking glasses
continuously. |
"Ted, jeg er ved at dø af sult, kan vi ikke få
det pragtfulde måltid, du lovede mig?" bad Daisy |
"Ted, I’m starving, can we go for that wonderful
meal you promised me?" Daisy pleaded. |
Netop da gyngede båden sidelæns og fik næsten Daisy
til at falde. |
Just then the boat rocked sideways and nearly made Daisy
fall over. |
"Åh Ted det er lidt voldsomt, er det ikke." |
"Oh Ted, it’s a bit rough, isn’it." |
Men Ted kunne ikke svare. Han var ligbleg og gispede
efter frisk luft. |
But Ted couldn’t reply. He was deathly pale and
gasping for fresh air. |
"Ted hvad er der galt? Du er ikke søsyg, er du?" |
"Ted, whatever’s wrong? You’re not seasick, are
you?" |
Daisy havde aldrig været søsyg, eller blot luftsyg og
det var aldrig faldet hende ind, at nogen andre kunne blive det, eller
blot hvordan det føltes. |
Daisy had never been seasick, or even airsick and it had
never entered her mind anybody else could be, or even what it was like. |
"Ted, lad os gå udenfor lidt." |
"Ted, let’s go outside for a bit." |
Daisy hjalp ham udenfor salonen ud i den friske luft. |
Daisy helped him outside the lounge into the fresh air. |
Uheldigvis blæste en meget stærk vind, og de måtte
gå ind igen. |
Unfortunately a very strong wind was blowing and they
had to go back in again. |
"Vær ikke urolig for mig Daisy," Ted trak
vejret tungt. |
"Don’t worry about me Daisy," Ted was
breathing heavily. |
"Gå du ind og få noget mad. Jeg sidder bare alene
her i salonen." |
"You go ahead and have something. I’ll just sit
here by myself in the lounge." |
"Nej Ted, jeg bliver hos dig," insisterede
Daisy. |
"No, Ted, I’ll stay with you," insisted
Daisy. |
"Nej Daisy, virkelig, jeg foretrækker bare at
sidde her stille og ikke tale med nogen." |
"No Daisy, really, I’d prefer just to sit here
quietly and not talk to anybody." |
"OK, hvis det er hvad du ønsker…jeg er ikke
længe væk." |
"All right, if that’s what you want...I won’t
be long." |
Daisy gik hen til restauranten med selvbetjening og
håbede at komme tilbage til Ted så hurtigt som muligt, men der var en
utrolig kø. |
Daisy made her way to the self-service restaurant hoping
to get back to Ted as soon as possible, but there was an incredible queue. |
Personalet var dog effektive, og ti minutter efter fik
Daisy sin torsk, chips og ærter, fulgt af rosinbudding med vaniliecreme
og en kop sort kaffe. |
However, the staff were efficient and in ten minutes
Daisy was having her cod, chips and peas, followed by Spotted Dick and
custard and a cup of black coffee. |
Daisy vendte tilbage til Ted, som nu stod ved vinduet og
havde kraven på sin vandtætte jakke oppe. |
Daisy returned to Ted who was now facing the window and
had the collar of his waterproof jacket turned up. |
"Har du det bedre, Ted?" Ted vendte sig ikke
om. |
"Feeling better, Ted?" Ted didn’t turn
round. |
"Det er ret varmt herinde nu, er det ikke?"
fortsatte Daisy og tog sin varme regnfrakke af. |
"It’s rather hot in here now, isn’t it?"
continued Daisy taking off her warm mac. |
"Ted hvad er der i vejen?" |
"Ted, what’s the matter?" |
Daisy rørte hans skulder, da hun bemærkede, at han
ikke havde svaret. |
Daisy touched his shoulder, noticing he hadn’t
answered. |
"Daisy," hvæsede Ted stadig med ansigtet mod
vinduet, "kom og sid ved siden af mig! Jeg kan ikke vende mig om."
Da Daisy sad ned, forklarede Ted: "William Rowles sidder for enden af
salonen og får sig en øl!" |
"Daisy," hissed Ted still facing the window,
"come and sit next to me! I can’t turn round." Once Daisy was
seated, Ted explained: "William Rowles is sitting at the end of the
lounge having a beer!" |
Daisy trak vejret hurtigt. |
Daisy breathed in rapidly. |
Hun hviskede: "Mener du William Rowles, den
voldelige Soho gangster! Men jeg troede, han var i fængsel." |
She whispered, "You mean William Rowles, the
violent Soho gangster! But I thought he was in prison." |
"Ja, det var han, jeg sendte ham selv i fængsel i
fjorten år." Ted talte med besvær og holdt pause med få sekunders
mellemrum. |
"Yes he was, I put him in prison myself for
fourteen years." Ted was speaking with difficulty and paused every
few seconds. |
"De overflyttede ham til et skotsk fængsel og det
lykkedes ham at flygte sidste uge" Han er tykkere end han var, men
det er ham." |
"They transferred him to a Scottish prison and he
managed to escape last week! He’s fatter than he was, but that’s him
all right." |
Daisy undgik at se hen imod den anden ende af salonen. |
Daisy avoided looking towards the end of the lounge. |
Ted fortsatte: "Jeg tror ikke, at han har genkendt
mig, fordi jeg ikke har mit overskæg mere, men hvis han genkender
mig, kunne han forårsage en masse problemer. |
Ted continued: "I don’t think he has recognised
me because I haven’t got my moustache any more but if he
recognises me he could cause a lot of trouble. |
Daisy, han er meget voldelig og kunne let være
bevæbnet på en eller anden måde." |
Daisy, he’s very violent and could easily be armed in
some way." |
"Hvad gør vi, Ted? " Daisy var lidt bange nu. |
"What shall we do, Ted?" Daisy felt a little
scared by now. |
"Du må hjælpe mig. Jeg kan ikke klare situationen
alene, jeg er for svag. |
"You must help me. I can’t manage the situation
alone, I’m too weak. |
Du må gå til kaptajnen, fortælle ham om alt dette og
få Rowles arresteret. Jeg sidder her indtil officererne ankommer." |
You must go to the captain, tell him about all this and
get Rowles arrested. I’ll sit here until the officers arrive." |
Daisy prøvede at bevæge sig væk på en upåfaldende
måde og gik igennem salonen til udgangen. |
Daisy tried to move away inconspicuously and walked
along the lounge to the exit. |
Netop da kom tre unge mænd gennem døren med øldåser
i hænderne. |
Just then three young men came through the door with
cans of beer in their hands. |
Pludselig krængede skibet igen, og en af de unge mænd
faldt ind mod Daisy og kom til at hælde øl ned af hendes nye grønne
silkebluse. |
Suddenly the ship lurched again and one of the young men
fell against Daisy accidentally pouring beer down her new green silk
blouse. |
"Åh nej, min nye bluse" tænkte Daisy "den
er nok ødelagt og nu lugter jeg af øl." |
"Oh no, my new blouse" Daisy thought "it
must be ruined and I smell of beer now." |
Da hun indså, at hun måske tiltrak sig opmærksomhed,
løste Daisy hurtigt den unge mand fra sit ansvar, hastede væk langs
korridoren mod officerernes rum og bankede på døren. |
Realising that she might be drawing attention to herself,
Daisy quickly absolved the young man from his responsibility, hurried away
along the corridor towards the officers’ room and knocked on the door. |
En officer åbnede endelig døren og stirrede på Daisy
og hendes ølplettede bluse. |
An officer opened the door at last and stared at Daisy
and her beer-stained blouse. |
"Kan jeg hjælpe Dem frøken?" Daisy havde
tydeligvis afbrudt hans aftensmad, da han stadig havde en serviet i
hånden. |
"Can I help you miss?" Daisy had clearly
interrupted his evening meal as he still had a napkin in his hand. |
"Vi har brug for Deres hjælp, det vil sige
kriminalassistent Singleton har. |
"We need your help, that is Detective-Inspector
Singleton does. |
Der er en farlig forbryder, en flygtet straffefange, han
sidder og får en drink i salonen – William Rowles er hans navn – og…" |
There’s a dangerous criminal, an escaped convict, in
the lounge having a drink - William Rowles is his name - and....." |
Officeren kunne lugte Daisys ølstænkede tøj og
udlagde det negativt. |
The officer could smell Daisy’s beery clothes and
interpreted it badly. |
"Hør frøken, hvorfor går De ikke tilbage og
sidder lidt ned. |
"Look, Miss, why don’t you go back and sit down a
bit. |
Der er ingen farlige forbrydere på denne båd. De er
tydeligvis faldet i søvn og har haft en ond drøm." |
There are no dangerous criminals on this boat. You
clearly fell asleep and had a bad dream." |
"De vover ikke at behandle mig sådan"
reagerede Daisy vredt på hans nedladende tone. |
"Don’t you dare treat me like that." Daisy
angrily reacted at his patronising tone. |
"Jeg har ikke drømt det hele. Jeg er heller ikke
fuld, nogen spildte deres øl ud over mig, mens jeg skyndte mig herhen." |
"I’m not dreaming it all up. I’m not drunk
either, someone spilt their beer all over me while I was hurrying to get
here." |
Daisys stemme blev endnu mere bestemt. |
Daisy’s voice became even more determined. |
"Der er en politibetjent i salonen, som er meget
søsyg, og han sendte mig efter hjælp. |
"There is a police officer in the lounge who is
very seasick and he sent me to get help. |
Hvis De ikke hjælper ham, får De virkelig problemer
selv." |
If you don’t help him, you’ll be in a lot of trouble
yourself." |
Daisy maste sig vej forbi manden ind i rummet, hvor fire
andre officerer indtog deres måltid, og sikkert havde hørt, hvad hun
havde sagt. |
Daisy pushed her way past the man into the room where
four other officers were having their meal and had probably heard what she
had said. |
Før det gik op for dem, hvad der egentlig skete, gav
Daisy ordrer: |
Before they could realise what was really happening,
Daisy was giving orders: |
"Kom med alle sammen, De bliver nødt til at
arrestere en flygtet fange straks." |
"Come along, all of you, you have to arrest an
escaped convict immediately." |
Daisy var meget overtalende, når hun ville. |
Daisy was very persuasive when she liked. |
En høj gråhåret mand rejste sig: "Jeg er kaptajn
Granger, frue, hvad sagde De?" |
A tall grey-haired man got up: "I’m Captain
Granger, Madam, what were you saying?" |
"Kaptajn, hvis De kommer med mig og møder
kriminal-assistent Singleton i salonen, kan han selv fortælle Dem det. |
"Captain, if you come with me to meet
Detective-Inspector Singleton in the lounge he can tell you himself. |
De må være diskrete, for hvis denne Rowles ser min
vens ansigt, kan han måske genkende ham, for han var den, som
arresterede ham for mange år siden." |
You must be discreet because if this Rowles sees my
friend’s face he might recognise him as he was the one who
arrested him years ago." |
Tilbage i salonen gik Daisy over til Ted og satte sig
ned ved siden af ham. |
Back in the lounge Daisy went over to Ted and sat down
next to him. |
Efter et par sekunder kom kaptajnen forbi, som om han
tilfældigt så efter, om alt var vel på Dovercraft`en. |
After a few seconds the Captain came by as though he
were casually seeing if everything was all right on the Dovercraft. |
Han bøjede sig over Ted, som diskret viste ham sin
identifikation og forlod salonen. |
He bent over Ted who discreetly showed him his
identification and left the lounge. |
Efter et minut havde en officer skiftet tøj og taget
barmandens plads, mens tre andre kom ind i salonen fra de tre udgange. |
After one minute an officer had changed his clothes and
replaced the barman while three others were entering the lounge from the
three exits. |
Daisy signallerede til Ted, at mændene var ankommet, og
han rejste sig usikkert. |
Daisy signalled to Ted that the men had arrived and he
got up shakily. |
Han gik sammen med mændene over mod Rowles, som nu var
temmelig lystig af øl. |
He went over with the men towards Rowles, who was by now
quite merry on beer. |
Rowles genkendte overhovedet ikke Singleton uden
overskæg men stirrede på ham, som om han ikke helt kunne placere hans
ansigt. |
Rowles didn’t recognise Singleton at all without his
moustache but stared at him as though he couldn’t quite place his face. |
"Jeg er kriminal-assistent Singleton og jeg
arresterer Dem hermed, William Rowles. Kaptajn, før ham bort og lås ham
inde." |
"I’m Detective-Inspector Singleton and I’m
arresting you, William Rowles. Captain, take him away and lock him up." |
Rowles rejst sig pludselig op og smed indholdet af sit
glas i ansigtet på Singleton, knækkede ølglasset, han stadig havde i
hånden, ved at slå det mod bordet, for at bruge det som våben og
bevægede sig mod udgangen, tæt ved hvor Daisy stadig sad. |
Rowles suddenly got up and threw the contents of his
glass into Singleton’s face, broke the beer glass still in his hand,
dashing it against a table, to use as a weapon and made towards the exit
near to where Daisy was still sitting. |
Daisy havde holdt øje med det hele på afstand. |
Daisy had been watching everything from afar. |
Uden at tøve tog hun sin regnfrakke op og blokerede
udgangen. |
Without hesitating, she picked up her mac and blocked
the exit. |
Så snart Rowles indså, at Daisy stod i vejen, vendte
han sig mod hende og prøvede at mase det knækkede glas ind i hendes
ansigt, men Daisy dukkede sig sidelæns og smed sin regnfrakke over hans
hoved. |
As soon as Rowles realised Daisy was in his way he
turned on her and tried to push the broken class into her face but Daisy
ducked sideways and threw her mac over his head. |
Rowles kæmpede for at få regnfrakken af sig og gøre
sig fri, men i forsøget skar han sig i armen med det knækkede glas og
skreg af smerte. |
Rowles fought to get the mac off him and free himself
but in doing so cut his arm with the broken glass and screamed with pain. |
Singleton og skibets besætning ankom hurtigt, det
lykkedes for dem at slå det knækkede glas ud af hans hånd og de
fastlåste forbryderens arme på hans ryg. |
Singleton and the ship’s crew quickly arrived, managed
to knock the broken glass from his hand and pinned the criminal’s arms
behind him. |
I Calais blev Rowles overgivet til de franske
myndigheder, og Daisy og Ted kunne endelig køre afsted på ferie klokken
6 om morgenen. |
Once in Calais, Rowles was handed over to the French
authorities and Daisy and Ted were able to drive off on holiday at last at
six o’clock in the morning. |
"Du ser meget bedre ud, Ted. |
"You’re looking much better, Ted. |
Men har du altid haft problemer med at krydse Kanalen?" |
But have you always had trouble crossing the Channel?" |
"Ja, det har jeg, men jeg har aldrig krydset den i
så dårlig vejr. Åh, Daisy sikke en oplevelse. |
"Yes, I have, but I’ve never crossed it in such
bad weather. Oh Daisy, what an adventure. |
Jeg er ked af, at vi altid får forretning og
fornøjelse blandet sammen. |
I’m sorry we always get business and pleasure mixed up
together. |
Politistyrken vil være dig meget taknemmelig!" |
The Police Force is going to be so grateful to you!" |
"Tja, for det første kan de give mig en ny
regnfrakke, da min er fuldstændig ødelagt! |
"Well, to start with, they can give me a new mac,
as mine is completely ruined! |
Og
desuden en ny silkebluse, som blev plettet i tjenesten." |
And
a new silk blouse too which was stained all in the line of duty." |
Ted var så lykkelig over ikke at være søsyg mere og
lagde knap nok mærke til, at han ikke havde sovet. |
Ted was so happy not to be seasick any more and hardly
noticed that he hadn’t slept. |
Daisy var mindre vant til at miste en nats søvn og
døsede væk i en drøm, hvor farlige dyr flygtede fra en ark. |
Daisy was less used to losing a night’s sleep and
drifted off into a dream where dangerous animals were escaping from an ark. |