Атлант расправил плечи
The Aristocracy of pull
"I’msorry,"shesaid,smiling,"I’vebeenrushinginandoutofthebuildingallweekanddidn’thavetimetostop."
Hedidnotsmile."MissTaggart,thatcigarettewiththedollarsignthatyougavemesomemonthsago—wheredidyougetit?"
Shestoodstillforamoment."I’mafraidthat’salong,complicatedstory,"sheanswered.
"Haveyouanywayofgettingintouchwiththepersonwhogaveittoyou?"
"Isupposeso—thoughI’mnottoosure.Why?"
"Wouldhetellyouwherehegotit?"
"Idon’tknow.Whatmakesyoususpectthathewouldn’t?"
Hehesitated,thenasked,"MissTaggart,whatdoyoudowhenyouhavetotellsomeonesomethingwhichyouknowtobeimpossible?"
Shechuckled."Themanwhogavemethecigarettesaidthatinsuchacaseonemustcheckone’spremises."
"Hedid?Aboutthecigarette?"
"Well,no,notexactly.Butwhy?Whatisityouhavetotellme?"
"MissTaggart,Ihaveinquiredallovertheworld.Ihavecheckedeverysourceofinformationinandaboutthetobaccoindustry.Ihavehadthatcigarettestubputthroughachemicalanalysis.Thereisnoplantthatmanufacturesthatkindofpaper.TheflavoringelementsinthattobaccohaveneverbeenusedinanysmokingmixtureIcouldfind.
