He said, barring absolute certainties
like fingerprints, mere physical traits were very little use for
identification if the fugitive really knew his business. He laughed at
things like dyed hair and false beards and such childish follies. The
only thing that mattered was what Peter called 'atmosphere'.
If a man could get into perfectly different surroundings from
those in which he had been first observed, and--this is the important
part--really play up to these surroundings and behave as if
he had never been out of them, he would puzzle the cleverest
detectives on earth. And he used to tell a story of how he once
borrowed a black coat and went to church and shared the same
hymn-book with the man that was looking for him. If that man had
seen him in decent company before he would have recognized him;
but he had only seen him snuffing the lights in a public-house with
a revolver.
The recollection of Peter's talk gave me the first real comfort
that I had had that day. Peter had been a wise old bird, and these
fellows I was after were about the pick of the aviary. What if they
were playing Peter's game? A fool tries to look different: a clever
man looks the same and is different.
Again, there was that other maxim of Peter's which had helped
me when I had been a roadman. 'If you are playing a part, you
will never keep it up unless you convince yourself that you are
it.
Pages:
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161