John Le Carre - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

A Bantam Book / published by Arrangementwith Coward. McCann & Geoghegan; Inc.

PRINTING HISTORY

Coward, McCann edition published January1964 Bantam edition / January 1975

17 printings through March 1989
Cover type design by R. D. Scudellari.

All rights reserved.
Copyright 1963 by Victor Gollancz Limited.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

For information address: Coward, McCann,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

ISBN 0-553-26442-7

The American handed Leamas another cup of coffeeand said, Why dont you go back and sleep? We can ring you if he showsup.

Leamas said nothing, just stared through thewindow of the checkpoint, along theempty street.

You cant wait forever, sir. Maybe hellcome some other time. We can have the Polizei contact the Agency: you can beback here in twenty minutes.

No, said Leamas, its nearly dark now.

But you cant wait forever; hes nine hours overschedule.

If you want to go, go. Youve been verygood, Leamas added. Ill tellKramer youve been damn good.

But how long will you wait?

Until he comes. Leamas walked to the observation window and stood between the two motionless policemen. Their binoculars weretrained on the Eastern checkpoint.

Hes waiting for the dark, Leamas muttered, Iknow he is.

This morning you said hed come across with theworkmen.

Leamas turned on him.

Agents arent airplanes. They dont haveschedules. Hes blown, hes on the run, hes frightened. Mundts after him, now, at this moment. Hes got only one chance. Let him choose histime.

The younger man hesitated, wanting to go and not finding themoment.

A bell rang inside the hut. They waited, suddenlyalert. A policeman said in German,Black Opel Rekord, Federal registration.

He cant see that far in the dusk, hesguessing, the American whispered andthen he added: How did Mundt know?

Shut up, said Leamas from the window.

One of the policemen left the hut and walked tothe sandbag emplacement two feetshort of the white demarcation which lay across the road like the base line ofa tennis court. The other waited until his companion was crouched behind thetelescope in the emplacement, then put down his binoculars, took his blackhelmet from the peg by the doorand carefully adjusted it on his head. Somewhere high above the checkpoint thearclights sprang to life, casting theatrical beams onto the road in front of them.

The policeman began his commentary. Leamas knew it by heart.

Car halts at the first control. Only one occupant, a woman. Escorted tothe Vopo hut for document check. They waited in silence.

Whats he saying? said the American.Leamas didnt reply. Picking up a spare pair of binoculars, he gazed fixedlytoward the East German controls.

Document check completed. Admitted to thesecond control.

Mr. Leamas, is this your man? theAmerican persisted. I ought to ring the Agency.

Wait.

Wheres the car now? Whats it doing?

Currency check ,Customs, Leamas snapped.

Leamas watched the car. There were two Vopos at the drivers door, one doing the talking, the other standing off, waiting . A third was sauntering around the car. He stoppedat the trunk, then walked back to the driver. Hewanted the key. He opened the trunk, looked inside, closed it, returned the keyand walked thirty yards up theroad to where, midway between the two opposing checkpoints, a solitary EastGerman sentry was standing, a squat silhouette in boots and baggy trousers. Thetwo stood together talking, self-consciousin the glare of the arclight.

With a perfunctory gesture they waved the car on.It reached the two sentries in the middle of the road and stopped again. Theywalked around the car, stood off and talked again; finally, almost unwillingly,they let it continue across the line to the Western sector.

It is a man youre waiting for, Mr.Leamas? asked the American. Yes,its a man.

Pushing up the collar of his jacket, Leamasstepped outside into the icy October wind. He remembered the crowd then. It wassomething you forgot inside the hut, this group of puzzled faces. The peoplechanged but the expressions were the same. It was like the helpless crowd thatgathers around a traffic accident, no one knowing how it happened, whether youshould move the body. Smoke or dust rose through the beams of the arc lamps, aconstant shifting pall between the margins of light.

Leamas walked over to the car and said to the woman, Whereis he?

They came for him and he ran. He took thebicycle. They cant have known about me.

Where did he go?

We had a room near Brandenburg , over a pub. He kept a fewthings there, money, papers. I think hell have gone there. Then hell comeover.

Tonight?

He said he would come tonight. The othershave all been caughtPaul, Viereck, Lndser, Salomon. He hasnt got long.

Leamas stared at her for a moment in silence.

Lndser too?

Last night.

A policeman was standing at Leamas side.

Youll have to move away from here, hesaid. Its forbidden to obstruct thecrossing point.

Leamas half turned. Go to hell, he snapped.

The German stiffened, but the woman said,Get in. Well drive down to the corner.

He got in beside her and they drove slowly until they reached aside road.

I didnt know you had a car, he said.

Its my husbands, she repliedindifferently. Karl never told you I was married, did he? Leamaswas silent. My husband and I work for an optical firm. They let us over to do business. Karlonly told you my maiden name. He didnt want me to be mixed up withyou.

Leamas took a key from his pocket.

Youll want somewhere to stay, hesaid. His voice sounded flat. Theres an apartment in the Albrecht-Drer-Strasse, next to the Museum. Number 28A. Youll findeverything you want. Ill telephone you when he comes.

Ill stay here with you.

Im not staying here. Go to the flat. Illring you. Theres no point in waiting here now.

But hes coming to this crossing point.

Leamas looked at her in surprise.

He told you that?

Yes. He knows one of the Vopos there, the son of his landlord. It may help. Thats why he chose this route.

And he told you that?

He trusts me. He told me everything.

Christ.

He gave her the key and went back to thecheckpoint hut, out of the cold. The policemen were muttering to each other ashe entered; the larger one ostentatiously turned his back.

Im sorry, said Leamas. Imsorry I bawled you out. He opened a tattered briefcase and rummaged in it until he found what he was lookingfor: a half bottle of whisky. With a nod the elder man accepted it, half filled each coffee mug and topped them up withblack coffee.

Wheres the American gone? asked Leamas.

Who?

The CIA boy. The one who was with me.

Bedtime, said the elder man and they all laughed.

Leamas put down his mug and said, What areyour rules for shooting to protect a man coming over? A manon the run.

We can only give covering fire if the Vopos shoot into our sector. Thatmeans you cant shoot until a mans over the boundary?

The older man said, We cant give covering fire, Mr

Thomas, Leamas replied.Thomas. They shook hands, the two policemen pronouncing their own names as they did so.

We cant give covering fire. Thats thetruth. They tell us thered be war if we did.