‘Wello,” said the major. “Give -me a band with all this, will your
The young man crossed to the older one and mumbled, 46sure thing.99
Between -them they unfastened the primary lock an the chain, and the
younger man held the briefcase out straight so Canfield could manipulate
the secondary combination lock, which was secured on the flat of his wrist.
The briefcase came loose, and Canfield removed his hat, overcoat, and
uniform jacket, throwing them on an easy chair.
The boy held the briefcase, standing motionless before the major. He was
extraordinarily good looking. ‘He had bright blue eyes below very dark
eyebrows, a straight but slightly upturned nose, and black hair combed
neatly
17
back. His complexion was swarthy as though he had a perpetual tan. He stood
just over six feet and was dressed in gray flannels, a blue shirt, and a
tweed jacket.
“How do you feel?” asked Canfield.
The young man paused and replied softly. “Well, on my twelfth birthday you
and Mother got me a new sailboat. I liked that better.”
The older man returned the younger’s smile. “I guess you did.”
“Is this it?” The boy placed the briefcase on the table and fingered it.
“Everything.”
“I suppose I should feel privileged.”
“It took an executive order from the president to got it out of State.7
“Really?” The boy looked up.
“DoWt be alarmed. I doubt he knows what’s in iL”
“How comer,
“A deal was made. There was an understanding.”
‘I don’t believe that.”
“I think you will after you read it. No more than ten people have ever seen
it in full, and most of them are dead. When we compiled the last quarter of
the file, we did it in segments . . . in nineteen thirty-eight. It’s in the
separate folder with the lead seals. The pages are out of sequence and have
to be collated. The key’s on the first page.” The major quickly loosened
his tic and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“Was all that necessaryr
“We thought it was. As I recall, we used rotating pools of typists.” The
major started toward a bedroom door. “I suggest you arrange the pages
before starting the last folder.” He entered the bedroom, hastily took off
his shirt, and unlaced his shoes. The young man followed and stood in the
doorframe.
‘T*7hen are we going?” asked the boy.
‘7hursday.”
“How?”
“Bomber Ferry Command. Matthews Air Force Base to Newfoundland, Iceland,
Greenland, to Ireland. From Ireland, on a neutral, straight through to
Lisbon.”
“Lisbonr
“The Swiss embassy takes over from there. TheyT take us to Bern… We’re
fully protected.”
18
Canfield, having removed his trousers, selected a pair of light gray
flannels from the closet and put them on.
“What’s Mother going to be told?” asked the young man-
Canfield crossed into the bathroom without replying. He filled. the
washbowl with hot water and began lathering his face.
The boy’s eyes followed him, but he did not move or break the silence. He
sensed that the older man was far more upset than he wished to show.
“Get me a clean shut from the second drawer over there, will you, please.
Just put it on the bed.”
“Sure.” He selected a widecollar broadcloth from the stack of shirts in the
dresser drawer.
Canfield spoke while he shaved. “Today’s Monday, so wenhave three days. rU
be making the final arrangements, and itIl give you time to digest the
file. You’ll have questions, and I don’t have to tell you that youll have
to ask me. Not that you’ll be speaking to anyone else who could answer you,
anyway, but in case you get hot and want to pick up- a phone, don!t.”
‘Wndersto(W
incidentally, don!t feel you have to commit anything to memory That’s not
important. I amply know that you have to understand.”
Was he being honest with the boy? Was it really necessary to make him feel
the weight of official truth? Canfield had convinced himself that it was,
for no matter the years, no matter the affection between them Andrew was a
Scarlett. In a few years he would inherit one of the largest fortimes on
earth. Such persons had to have responsibility thrust upon them when it was
necessary, not when it was convenient.
Or did they?
Or was Canfield simply taking the easiest way for himself? Let the words
come from someone else- Oh, Godl Make somebody elm speakl
Drying his face with a towel, the major splashed some Pinaud on his face
and started putting on his shirL
“If you!rv interested, you missed most of your beard.”
“Not interested.” He selected a tie from a rack on the closet door and
pulled a dark blue blazer from a hanger. “When I leave, you can start
reading. If you go out for dinner, put the bAefcase in the cabinet to the
right of
19
the library door. Lock it. Here’s the key.” He unclipped a small key from
his key ring.
The two men. walked out of the bedroom, and Canfield started toward the
front hall.
“You either didn’t hear me or you don’t want to answer, but what about
Mother?”
“I heard you.” Canfield turned toward the young man. “Janet isn’t supposed
to know anything.”
“Why not? Supposing something happens?”
Canfield was visibly upseL “It’s my judgment that she be told nothing.”
“I don’t agree with you.” The young man remained subdued.
‘That doesn’i concern mel”
“Maybe it should. I’m pretty important to you now…. I didn’t choose to
be, Dad.”
“And you think that gives you the right to issue ordersr,
“I think I have a right to be heard… Look, I know you’re upset, but she’s
my mother.”
“And my wife. Don’t forget that part, will you, Andy?” The major took
several steps toward the young man, but Andrew Scarlett turned away and
walked to the table where the black leather case lay beside the lamp.
“You never showed me how to open your briefcam”
“It’s unlocked. I unlocked it in the car. It opens like any other
briefcase.”
Young Scarlett fingered the clasps and they shot up. “I didn’t believe you
last night, you know,” he said quietly while he opened the lid of the
briefcase,
“Thaes not surplisin&”
“No. Not about him. I believe that part because it answered a lot of
questions about you.” He turned and looked at the older man. “Well, not
questions really, because I always thought I knew why you acted the way you
did. I figured you just resented the Scarletts…. Not me. The Scarletts.
Uncle Chancellor, Aunt Allison, all the kids. You and Mom always laughed at
all of them. So did L . . . I remember how painful it was for you to tell
me why my last name couldn’t be the same as yours. Remember thatr’
‘Tainfuffy.” Canfield smiled gently.
“But the last couple of years . . . you changed. You got pretty vicious
about the Scarletts. You hated it every
20
time anyone mentioned the Scarlatti companies. You’d fly off the handle
whenever the Scarlatti lawyers made appointments to discuss me with you and
Mom. She got angry with you and said you were unreasonable…. Only she was
wrong. I understand now. . . . So you see, I’m prepared to believe
whatever’s in here.” He closed the lid on the briefcase.
“It wont be easy for you.”
“It isn’t easy now, and I’m just getting over the first
shock.” He tried lamely to smile. “Anyway, I’ll learn to
live with it, I guess. – * . . I never knew him. He was never
anything to me. I never paid much attention to Uncle
Chancellor’s stories. You see, I didn’t want to know any
thing. Do you know why~”
The major watched the young man closely. “No, I don’t,” he replied.
“Because I never wanted to belong to anyone but you
.. and Janet”
Oh, God in your protective heaven, thought Canfield. “rve got to go.” He
started once again for the door.
“Not yet. We haven’t settled anything.”
“Mere’s nothing to settle.”
“You haven’t heard what it was I di(&t believe last night.”
Canfield stopped, his hand on the doorknob. -ftat?”
‘That mother … doesn’t know about him.”
Canfield removed his hand from the knob and stood by the door. When he
spoke his voice was low and controlled. “I was hoping to avoid this until
later. Until you’d read the file.”
“IVs got to be now, or I doet want the file. If anything!s going to be kept
from her, I want to know why before I go any further.”
The major came back into the center of the room. “What do you want me to
tell you? That it would kill her to find out?”
“Would it?”
“Probably not. But I haven!t the courage to test that.”
~Row long have you known?”
Canfield walked to the window. The children had left the park. The gate was
closed.