"And so," she heard Cutty say. "Mr. Hawksley is going to become an American citizen. Kitty, what are some of the principles of good citizenship?"
"To be nice to policemen. Not to meddle with politics, because it is vulgar. To vote perfunctorily. To "let George do it" when there are reforms to be brought about. To keep your hat on when the flag goes by because otherwise you will attract attention. To find fault without being able to offer remedies. To keep in debt because life here in America would be monotonous without bill collectors."
Cutty interrupted with a laugh. "Kitty, you"ll "scare Hawksley off the map!"
"Let him know the worst at once," retorted Kitty, flashing a smile at the victim.
"Spoofing me--what?" said Hawksley, appealing to his host.
This quality of light irony in a woman was a distinct novelty to Hawksley. She had humour, then? So much the better. An added zest to the game he was planning. He recalled now that she was not of the clinging kind either. A woman with a humorous turn of mind was ten times more elusive than a purely sentimental one. Give him an hour or two with that old Amati--if she really cared for music! She would be coming to the apartment again--some afternoon, when his host was out of the way.
Better still, he would call her by telephone; the plea of loneliness.
Scoundrel? Of course he was. He was not denying that. He would embark upon this affair without the smug varnish of self-lies. Fire--to play with it!
He ate his portion of beefsteak, potatoes, and toast, and emptied his coffee cup. It was really the first substantial meal he had had in many hours. A feeling of satisfaction began to permeate him. He smiled at Miss Frances, who shook her head dubiously. She could not quite make him out pathologically. Perhaps she had been treating him as sh.e.l.l-shocked when there was nothing at all the matter with his nerves.
Presently Kuroki came in with a yellow envelope, which he laid at the side of Cutty"s plate.
"Telegrams!" exploded Cutty. "Hang it, I don"t want any telegrams!"
"Open it and have it over with," suggested Kitty.
"If you don"t mind."
It was the worst kind of news--a summons to Washington for conference.
Which signified that the Government"s plans were completed and that shortly he would be on his way to Piraeus.
A fine muddle! Hawksley in no condition to send upon his way; Kitty"s affair unsettled; the emeralds still in camera obscura; Karlov at liberty with his infernal schemes, and Stefani Gregor his prisoner. Wild horses, pulling him two ways. A word, and Karlov would come to the end of his rope suddenly. But if he issued that word the whole fabric he had erected so painstakingly would blow away like cardboard. If those emeralds turned up in the possession of any man but himself the ensuing complications would be appalling. For he himself would be forced to tell what he knew about the stones: Hawksley would be thrust conspicuously into the limelight, and sooner or later some wild anarch would kill him.
Known, Hawksley would not have one chance in a thousand. Kitty would be dragged into the light and hara.s.sed and his own att.i.tude toward her misunderstood. All these things, if he acted upon his oath.
Nevertheless, he determined to risk suspension of operations until he returned from Washington. There was one sound plank to cling to. He had first-hand information that anarchistic elements would remain in their noisome cellars until May first. If he were not ordered abroad until after that, no harm would follow his suspension of operations.
"Bad news?" asked Kitty, anxiously.
"Aggravating rather than bad. I am called to Washington. May be gone four or five days. Official business. Leaves things here a bit in the air."
"I"ll stay as long as you need me," said Miss Frances.
"I"d rather a man now. You"ve been a brick. You need rest. I"ve a chap in mind. He"ll make our friend here toe the mark. A physical instructor, ex-pugilist; knows all about broken heads."
"I say, that"s ripping!" cried Hawksley. "Give me your man, and I"ll be off your hands within a week. The sooner you stop fussing over me the sooner the crack in my head will cease to bother me.
"Kuroki will cook for you and Ryan will put you through the necessary stunts. The roof, when the weather permits, makes a good exercising ground. If you"ll excuse me I"ll do some telephoning. Kuroki, pack my bag for a five-day trip to Washington. I"ll take you down to the office, Kitty."
"I don"t fancy I ever will quite understand you," said Hawksley, leaning back in his chair, listlessly. "Honestly, now, you"d be perfectly justified in bundling me off to some hotel. I have funds. Why all this pother about me?"
Cutty smiled. "When I tackle anything I like to carry it through. I want to put you on your train."
"To be reasonably sure that I shan"t come back?"
"Precisely"--but without smiling. With a vague yet inclusive nod Cutty hurried off.
"It is because he is such a thorough sportsman. Mr. Hawksley," Kitty explained. "Having accepted certain obligations he cannot abrogate them off hand."
"Did I bother you last night? I mean, did my fiddling?"
"Mercy, no! From the hurdy-gurdy of my childhood, down to Kubelik and his successors, I have been more or less music-mad. You play--wonderfully!" Sudden, inexplicable shyness.
Hawksley smiled. An hour or two with that old Amati.
"I am only an unconventional amateur. You should hear Stefani Gregor when the mood is on. He puts something into your soul that makes you wish to go forth at once to do some fine, unselfish act."
Stefani Gregor! He thought of the clear white soul of the man who had surrendered imperishable fame to stand between him and the curse of his blood; who had for ten years stood between his mother and the dissolute man whom irony had selected for the part of father. Ten years of diplomacy, tact, patience. Stefani Gregor! There was the blood, predatory and untamed; and there was the spirit which the old musician had moulded. He could not harm this girl. Dead or alive, Stefani Gregor would not permit it.
Hawksley rose slowly and without further speech walked to the corridor door. He leaned against the jamb for a moment, then went on to his bedroom.
"I"m afraid that breakfast was too much for him," the nurse ventured.
"An odd young man."
"Very," replied Kitty, rather absently. She was trying to a.n.a.lyze that flash of shyness.
Meantime, Cutty sat down before the telephone. He wanted Kitty out of town during his absence. In her present excitable mood he was afraid to trust her. She might surrender to any mad impulse that stirred her fancy. So he called up Burlingame. Kitty"s chief, and together they manufactured an a.s.signment that was always a pleasant recollection to Kitty.
Next, Cutty summoned Professor Billy Ryan to the wire, argued and cajoled for ten minutes, and won his point. He was always dealing in futures--banking his favours here and there and drawing checks against them when needed.
Then he tackled his men and issued orders suspending operations temporarily. He was asked what they should do in case Karlov came out into the open. He answered in such an event not to molest him but to watch and take note of those with whom he a.s.sociated. There were big things in the air, and only he himself had hold of all the threads. He relayed this information to the actual chief of the local service, from whom he had borrowed his men. There was no protest. Green spectacles.
Quarter to nine he and Kitty entered a subway car and found a corner to themselves, while Karlov"s agent was content with a strap in the crowded end of the car.
Karlov for once had outthought Cutty. He had withdrawn his watchers, confident that after a day or so his unknown opponent would withdraw his. During the lull Karlov matured his plans, then resumed operations, calculating that he would have some forty-odd hours" leeway.
His agent was clever. He had followed Kitty from Eightieth Street to the Knickerbocker Hotel. There he had lost her. He had loitered on the sidewalk until midnight, and was then convinced that the girl had slipped by. So he had returned to Eightieth Street; but as late as five in the morning she had not returned.
This agent had followed the banker after his visit to Kitty. He had watched the banker"s house, seen Cutty arrive and depart. Taking a chance shot in the dark, he had followed Cutty to the office building, learned that Cutty was the owner and lived in the loft. As Kitty had not returned home by five he proceeded to take a second chance shot in the dark, stationing himself across the street from the entrance to the office building, thereby solving the riddle uppermost in Karlov"s mind.
He had found the man in the dress suit.
"Cutty, I"m sorry I was such a b.o.o.by last night. But it was the best thing that could have happened. The pentupness of it was simply killing me. I hadn"t any one to come to but you--any one who would understand.
I don"t know of any man who has a better right to kiss me. I know. You were just trying to buck me up."
c.l.i.tter-clatter! c.l.i.tter-clatter! Cutty stared hard at the cement floor.
Marry her, settle a sum on her, and give her her freedom. Molly"s girl.
Give her a chance to play. He turned.
"Kitty, do you trust me?"
"Of all the foolish questions!" She pressed his arm. "Why shouldn"t I trust you?"
"Will you marry me? Wait! Let me make clear to you what I have in mind.
I"m all alone. I loved your mother. It breaks my heart that while I have everything in the way of luxuries you have nothing. I can"t settle a sum on you--an income. The world wouldn"t understand. Your friends would be asking questions among themselves. This telegram from Washington means but one thing: that in a few weeks I shall be on my way to the East. I shall be mighty unhappy if I have to go leaving you in the rut. This is my idea: marry me an hour or so before the ship sails. I will leave you a comfortable income. Lord knows how long I shall be gone. Well, I won"t write. After a year you can regain your freedom on the grounds of desertion. Simple as falling off a log. It"s the one logical way I can help you. Will you?"
Station after station flashed by. Kitty continued stare through the window across the way, by and by she turned her face toward him, her eyes shining with tears.