In sudden panic, Jaffe released his grip and watched Haum slide down against the wall and spread out on the floor like a doll whose sawdust (опилки) had leaked away.

He saw a trickle of bright-red blood coming from Haum's half-open mouth. He knelt beside the Vietnamese and touched him cautiously.

"Hey . . . Haum! Hell! What's the matter with you?"

Then with a shudder (вздрагивать), he stood up.

The full force of his predicament (затруднительное положение, неприятность) struck him.

Haum was dead, and he had murdered him!

Chapter Two

With a violently thumping heart, Jaffe stared down at Haum's crumpled (мятый) body. His immediate reaction was to get help. He turned to the telephone, but paused, frowning (нахмуренный) and shaking his head.

There was nothing anyone could do now for Haum. He was dead. This was not the moment to think of him, but of himself.

He looked at the ladder standing against the wall. Suppose he told the police that Haum had fallen off the ladder and had accidentally broken his neck?

His eyes shifted to the hole in the wall. The moment the police saw that hole they would suspect it had been a hiding-place for something. They would remember that this house had once belonged to Mai Chang, General Nguyen Van Tho's mistress. It wouldn't take them long to assume (принимать) that the general's diamonds had been hidden in the wall.

Jaffe moved over to Haum's body. He peered (сравнялся) down at the little man. He saw the skin around Haum's mouth and throat was bruised (побить) and broken. These tell-tale marks would rule out (исключат) any story of an accident with the ladder.

Suppose he told the police that he had come upon Haum stealing the diamonds and that Haum had attacked him and that during the struggle, Haum had been accidentally killed? Such a story might get him off a murder charge, but it would mean giving up the diamonds, and there was always the risk he would receive a prison sentence.

It was at this moment that Jaffe made up his mind that whatever the risk, he was going to stick to the diamonds, and having decided this, his panic subsided (отступила) and he began to think more clearly. If he could get to Hong Kong with the diamonds, he could get lost without any difficulty. He would be a very rich man. He could begin a new life. With the money from the sale of the diamonds, he would be free to do anything he liked. But the trick question was, of course: how to get to Hong Kong?

He poured himself a stiff shot (большую порцию, немалый глоток) of whisky, drank half of it, then after he had lit a cigarette, he finished the drink.

You couldn't leave Vietnam just when you thought you would, he reminded himself. The authorities entangled (спутанный) all travellers in a web of restrictions and regulations. You first had to apply for an exit visa, and the granting (выдача) of this could take a week. Then there were forms to fill in regarding the movement of currency. There were photographs to be supplied. He couldn't hope to get out under ten days, and in the meantime, what would be happening to Haum's body?

A sudden sound broke in on his thoughts that made him stiffen and set his heart thumping again. Someone was knocking on the back door!

He stood motionless, scarcely breathing while he listened.

The gentle knock came again, then he heard the back door creak open.