The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1995, Page 37

SPRING/SUMMER 1995
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
147
his address. But before I start off to Mr.
O’Brian’s, you will have to convince me that
it is with good intentions that you want to
know Arnor’s address.” And this time it was
I who looked sharply at him.
“Do I look like a rascal to you, my boy?”
“No, far from it,” I said, “but you could
be a tool in the hands of a rascal.”
“Do you, then, consider me to be naive
and irresponsible?”
“No, not at all. 1 don't know how to say
it. You might, for instance, have something
to do with the secret police.”
“Has Arnor done something that makes
you afraid of the secret police for his sake?”
“No, no,” I said vehemently. “No one has
a more spotless reputation than Arnor. No
one has a more pure and innocent heart
than he.”
“Then why do you fear the police?”
“The police could be looking for Arnor
even though he has done nothing wrong.”
“How could that be? Are you afraid he
may be asked to be a witness to inform on
someone else’s crime? Or what?” Mr. Is-
land’s eyes were becoming quite hard.
“No, no, no!” I said.
“What are you afraid of on his behalf?”
“Mr. Island,” I said, “I lack the words to
express what I bear in my heart. But let us
suppose that Arnor has some secret to keep,
and some man or woman wanted, at all
costs, to find out this secret; could it not be
that the man or woman would get the as-
sistance of the secret police in some way and
that the police might use some good man
as the instrument to find out the secret?”
“Am I to understand that Arnor Berg has
broken a promise in a love affair?” said Mr.
Island, with a peculiar glint in his eyes.
“I did not mention love,” said I.
“You hinted that he had a secret to keep,
and since he is young and pure in heart and
a good man, it has to be about his own love
or someone else’s.”
“His secret may have nothing to do with
love,” I said.
“Give me an example.”
“The secret might concern someone
other than himself.”
“Yes, of course, it could concern his fa-
ther or mother.”
“Or his uncle,” I said. I had not intended
to say that.
“His uncle would scarcely have told him
about his own love affairs. He would more
likely have told him where gold or jewel-
lery was to be found.” Mr. Island glared at
me.
“Yes,” I said. “The secret could be about
money belonging to his uncle.”
“I have not said that, but I will say this
much, that if Arnor had a secret, it would
not necessarily be about love.”
“Rather about a treasure hidden in the
ground?”
“I did not say that either. But I did say
that Arnor’s secret could just as well be
about money as about love.”
“And his uncle’s money?”
“Yes, his uncle’s money as well as any-
thing else,” I said, feeling I had gotten my-
self out of difficulty.
“Well, my boy,” said Mr. Island, looking
a little smug. “You promise faithfully to take
me to meet this man who knows where
Arnor Berg lives, if I first tell you why I want
to find this young countryman of ours?”
“I would prefer to know that before I
take you to O’Brian’s,” I said. “And I can
assure you that O’Brian will say nothing of
Arnor’s whereabouts until he knows, for
sure, where you stand.”
“Or, in other words: you would like me
to understand that Mr. O'Brian, like you,
knows Arnor Berg’s secret very well.”
I was silent. I knew I was dealing with a
man who had the advantage over me. My
only defence was to talk little and avoid
asking questions.
“I shall tell you with deep sincerity why I
need to know where Arnor lives,” said Mr.
Island, after waiting a moment for my re-
ply. “I must find him and talk with him
about this old secret of his. I know that se-
cret fully and much better than you or his