"Bolshevik?"
"For the sake of a handle. They might be Chinamen, for all I know. I can
take care of him until he is on his feet. And you will be saved all this
annoyance.
"But I don't believe it's going to be an annoyance. I'm terribly
interested, and want to see it through."
"If he can be moved, out he goes. No arguments. He can't stay in this
apartment. That's final."
"Exactly why not?" Kitty demanded, rebelliously.
"Because I say so, Kitty."
"Is Stefani Gregor an undesirable?"
"You knew him. What do you say?" countered her godfather, evading the
trap. The innocent child! He smiled inwardly.
Kitty was keen. She sensed an undercurrent, and her first attempt to
touch it had failed. The mere name of Stefani Gregor had not roused
Cutty's astonishment. She was quite positive that the name was not
wholly unfamiliar to her father's friend.
Still, something warned her not to press in this direction. He would be
on the alert. She must wait until he had forgotten the incident. So she
drew up a chair beside the bed and sat down.
Cutty leaned against the footrail, his expression neutral. He sighed
inaudibly. His delightful catnap was over. Stefani Gregor, Kitty's
neighbour, a valet in a fashionable hotel! Stefani Gregor, who, upon
a certain day, had placed the drums of jeopardy in the palms of a war
correspondent known to his familiars as Cutty. And who was this young
man on the bed?
"There goes the bell!" cried Kitty, jumping up.
"Wait!"
The ring was repeated vigorously and impatiently.
"Kitty, I don't quite like the sound of that bell. Harrison would have
no occasion to be impatient. Somebody in a hurry. Now, attend to me. I'm
going to steal out to the kitchen. Don't be afraid. Call if I'm needed.
Open the door just a crack, with your foot against it. If it's Harrison
he'll be in uniform. Call out his name. Slam the door if it is someone
you don't know."
Kitty opened the door as instructed, but she swung it wide because one
of the men outside was a policeman. The man behind him was a thickset,
squat individual, with puffed, discoloured eyes and a nose that reminded
Kitty of an alligator pear.
"What's going on here?" the policeman demanded to know.