The Double Spy by Dan T. Moore
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Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Amazing Stories March 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
THE DOUBLE SPY
By Dan T. Moore
Illustrator: Sanford Kossin
_Meet the man with no name. Nothing cool about this cat. He was built along the lines of a necktie rack, weighed slightly more than a used napkin, and was as shy as the ante in a crooked poker game._
_No sex appeal there, you'd say. Yet within the space of a few days every woman in the country melted into quivering protoplasm at the very thought of this mystery man!_
* * * * *
DEAR EXCELLENCY:
The communicating time will be here soon. I have started this letterearly to be sure it will be ready. This is the first time I have feltsafe when communicating with you. Our enemies at home can solve suchextraordinarily complex ciphers that I have always been uneasy before.They cannot possibly solve an entirely new language like this one; alanguage based on an utterly different theory from our own; with newsymbols; and even set down with a different writing instrument. Ourlong periods of study together have brought their reward. YourExcellency, I appreciate the rare privilege of knowing a language thatonly one other person at home knows, and that one person, yourself.
I am having many dangers and horrors in America. As we both realized,it is impossible to carry out my mission without lots of their money.I could not even begin my work, nor buy the expensive equipment neededfor my experiments without finding a way to make money.
In only a few weeks I discovered the quickest and easiest way to do itwas to become an entertainer. The people here like to be shocked andastonished. Naturally I am well equipped to do both. I was animmediate sensation. I got into what New Yorkers call "The Big Time."
Each night at 8:30 I went to a theatre in a place called Times Squareand put on my act. Thousands of people paid to see me. I was very wellpaid. There is a newspaper here called "Variety." It carried anarticle about me. The headline said: STRONG MAN TERRIF WOW SOCKEROO100G 3D. The numbers at the end mean the theatre took in $100,000during my third week. After the article appeared every seat was soldweeks in advance.
You will be amused, Excellency, when you hear what I did in this show.I came out on the stage practically nude except for an abbreviatedleopard skin. I walked over to a pile of iron rods. They werehalf-inch concrete reinforcing bars about six feet long. I picked oneout and dropped it on the floor. It made a terrible crash. This was toprove to the audience that it was real. Then I wrapped it around myneck and tied it in a regular four-in-hand necktie knot. It was alittle hard to get the ends to come out even. I had to pull and haulto arrange them just right. This caused tremendous laughter. They knewno one could do this with an iron reinforcing bar. They were sure itwas a trick.
I chose the man in the audience who was laughing the loudest and askedhim to come up on the stage. With a little persuasion he did so. Iselected another iron bar and wrapped it around his neck. Then I tiedit in a four-in-hand knot and adjusted the ends until they wereperfect. I asked him to take the necktie off. He grabbed it with bothhands and tried. His face turned purple with effort, but of course hecould not even budge it. Everyone laughed loudly. Finally twenty menfrom the audience volunteered to help. They all started pulling andhauling. They couldn't get the iron necktie off. Then the audiencebecame silent. They looked at each other uneasily. There werefrightened whispers.
* * * * *
That was the time to break the tension. I would spit on the floor. Asmy saliva hit the stage it burst into flames and a smell of perfumedrifted through the theatre. It was my turn to look surprised andscared. Everyone howled with laughter, and the tension was broken forall but the man with the iron necktie who remained forlorn andmiserable. Finally I removed his necktie and let it drop to the floor.It made a tremendous crash. Everyone was impressed all over again.
Next I grasped a horizontal bar and chinned myself fifty times withone hand. Again everyone became silent. They all knew no one has everdone that before. In many ways they are like us. For example, whenthey get scared their body heat rises like ours. As the heat came upto me from the audience I could feel the change in my sensors. It mademy chin warm. I found that when my chin got warm it was time to breakthe tension. I did it by demonstrating magic tricks.
You will smile, Excellency, when you hear what they call magic here. Iwas tightly blind-folded. Some people came up on the stage, and Iannounced exactly how many there were. I pointed to exactly where eachone was standing, and indicated which were males and which werefemales. This made a most tremendous impression. I could hear gasps inthe audience. I was told that the people rubbed their eyes as if theycould not believe what they were seeing. You will understand,Excellency, that I accomplished this by turning on the male principle.The women here are so exquisitely receptive to it that when it is ontheir excitement causes changes in their body heat. It was simple forme to sense those fluctuations in temperature and to know which of thepeople before me were female.
Next I put a piece of paper on a metal rack across the stage. Iconcentrated heat waves on it from my cupped hand. The paper burstinto flames. As they say here on the street they call Broadway, that"brought down the house." They clapped and whistled and made me do itagain and again. Luckily they conceived of it only as a wonderfultrick.
I ended the act by choosing a very unusual looking man from theaudience. He came up on stage and we went behind a screen together.When we reappeared a few seconds later the audience screamed because Ihad twisted my face around to look exactly like his. Believe me, thereaction was terrific. Slowly I let my face slip back to "normal." Ifthey realized there is no normal and that I could leave my face thatway permanently, that would have been too much of a shock. They wouldhave become silent and terrified and suspicious. I might have been indanger.
I had to calculate carefully how much these people could take withoutrealizing there was something alarmingly different about me. Ilearned my lesson one night. I turned on the male principle toostrongly and some of the women in the audience became very agitated.Everyone was embarrassed. After the show the theatre manager came tomy dressing room and asked me to have a drink with him at a little baracross the street.
When we sat down he stared at me in a queer manner. "Just exactly whathappened tonight?" he demanded.
I looked surprised. "Weren't you satisfied with the act?" I asked."The audience seemed to like me."
"They liked you too much."
I laughed. "You mean those silly females who tried to drag me off thestage?"
He narrowed his eyes and thrust his face close to mine. "If I hadn'thad the best-trained ushers in New York there'd have been a panic anda riot in there. How come?"
I shrugged. "The women in your town seem remarkably excitable."
"And in _your_ town?"
"Not so," I declared truthfully. How truthfully Your Excellency wellknows.
* * * * *
"There's something peculiar about you," he said, "something verypeculiar." He leaned back in his chair and his glance swept over me."Suppose you cut out the leopard skin," he said, "and wear a jerseyand trousers."
I laughed to myself. He thought my bare body, my bulging muscles hadbeen the cause of the trouble. What a fool! Is Your Excellencylaughing too? However, I dared not disagree with him. By that time hehad had many drinks. He
"What the hell kind of a guy are you?" he snarled at me.
My hands twitched. I wished I could have picked him up and tied him ina four-in-hand knot around his own neck.
"Who the hell are you?" he repeated.
I yawned and stretched and got to my feet. "Not even a strong mannow," I said casually, "just a tired man."
I left the bar.
After that incident I was careful with the male principle. When theaudience left each night I turned it on very slightly--only enough tobe sure that the women would do their best to get back to see meagain.
But before I go any further in this account of my adventures, YourExcellency, let me tell you about the women here. The greatestdifference between the Americans and ourselves is in the women. Theyare extraordinary. Some of them are beautiful beyond belief. Myresearches completely