The Last Tycoon / Последний магнат. Книга для чтения на английском языке

) Р’СЃРµ РїСЂРѕС…РѕРґРёС‚. – Вечно РѕРґРЅРѕ лишь животворящее искусство. (Теофиль Готье. В«Р?скусство»)]”

“And there’s the Prince from Denmark,” said Catherine Doolan. “He’s very handsome.” She was impelled to add pointlessly, “ – for a tall man.”

“Thanks,” Stahr said. “Thank you, Catherine, I appreciate it that I am now the handsomest small man on the lot. Send the Prince out on the sets and tell him we’ll lunch at one.”

“And Mr.

“I’ll see him for ten minutes.”

As she went out, he asked: “Did Robby phone in?”

“No.”

“Call sound, and if he’s been heard from, call him and ask him this. Ask him this – did he hear that woman’s name last night? Either of those women. Or anything so they could be traced.”

“Anything else?”

“No, but tell him it’s important while he still remembers. What were they? I mean what kind of people – ask him that, too.

She waited, scratching his words on her pad without looking.

“ – oh, were they – questionable? Were they theatrical? Never mind – skip that. Just ask if he knows how they can be traced.”

The policeman, Malone, had known nothing. Two dames, and he had hustled ’em, you betcha. One of them was sore. Which one? One of them. They had a car, a Chevy – he thought of taking the license. Was it – the good-looker who was sore? It was one of them.

Not which one – he had noticed nothing. Even on the lot here Minna was forgotten. In three years. So much for that, then.

* * *

Stahr smiled at Mr. George Boxley. It was a kindly fatherly smile Stahr had developed inversely when he was a young man pushed into high places. Originally it had been a smile of respect toward his elders, then as his own decisions grew rapidly to displace theirs, a smile so that they should not feel it – finally emerging as what it was: a smile of kindness – sometimes a little hurried and tired, but always there – toward anyone who had not angered him within the hour.

Mr. Boxley did not smile back. He came in with the air of being violently dragged, though no one apparently had a hand on him[50 - no one apparently had a hand on him – (разг.) никто его не тащил].