صلاح‌الدین گربه‌ی مشکی رو پیدا میکنه

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Salahadin finds the Black Cat

Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door of Salahadin’s cabin. It was the steward.

‘Do you want to eat in the dining-room or in your cabin, sir’ asked the steward.

‘Where do people usually eat’ asked Salahadin.

‘In the dining-room,’ replied the steward. ‘But you can have your dinner in your cabin, if you want.’

‘That’s an idea,’ said Salahadin. ‘I’ll eat here.’

‘I’ll bring you dinner at eight o’clock then,’ said the steward, and walked down the corridor.

Salahadin watched the steward carefully. The steward walked to a small room under the stairs.

Salahadin took out his notebook and drew a plan of the corridor and the cabins. Here is the plan:

After a few moments, the steward came out of his room and walked down the corridor. Salahadin waited for five minutes. Everything was quiet in the corridor. Salahadin left his cabin and walked quietly to the steward’s room under the stairs.

The steward had not locked the door. Salahadin opened it carefully and looked in. The room was small, with brushes and cleaning things in it. There were some hooks on the wall. A key hung from every hook and there was a number above each one.

Salahadin took the key of cabin 22 and went to the door. Suddenly he heard a noise. Peterson had come back. He was standing at the door of his cabin. Salahadin waited in the steward’s room. Peterson went into his cabin and closed the door.

Salahadin quietly went back to his own cabin, sat down and listened. There was the noise of music. Peterson had turned on a radio. Then there was the noise of running water. Peterson was having a shower.

Salahadin had a shower, too, got dressed and waited. A few minutes later there was a knock at his door. The steward had brought Salahadin’s dinner. At the same time, Peterson came out of his cabin. He locked the door and walked down the corridor. Peterson was going to the dining-room.

The steward went away and Salahadin was left alone. He looked out into the corridor. Everything was quiet. Salahadin left his cabin and crossed the corridor. He put the key in the lock of cabin 22 and quietly opened the door. Then he went into the cabin and shut the door carefully behind him.

Salahadin looked round the cabin. There was a case on top of the cupboard and some clothes on the bed. But he did not see a box. He looked inside the shower-room. It was empty.

The Black Cat must be here, thought Salahadin. Where has he hidden it?

Then he had an idea. The shower-room was very high. Salahadin looked up. There was a box placed above the shower.

Salahadin lifted the box down on the bed and started to open it. But something had gone wrong. There was a noise and the door of cabin 22 suddenly opened. There was a man in the doorway. It was Peterson and he had a gun in his hand. The gun was pointing at Salahadin.