“Aren’t you going to join the others?”
“No. If I can get around behind the bandits while they’re busy with the others, maybe I can turn a trick.”
“Watch sharp now!” I ordered the boy, and the princess and I made a dash for the opposite sidewalk.
We reached it without drawing lead, sidled along a building for a few yards, and turned into an alley. From the alley’s other end came the smell and wash and the dull blackness of the bay.
While we moved down this alley I composed a scheme by which I hoped to get rid of my companion, sending her off on a safe wild-goose chase. But I didn’t get a chance to try it out.
The big figure of a man loomed ahead of us.
Stepping in front of the girl, I went on toward him. Under my slicker I held my gun on the middle of him.
He stood still. He was larger than he had looked at first. A big, slope-shouldered, barrel-bodied husky. His hands were empty. I spotted the flashlight on his face for a split second. A flat-cheeked, thick-featured face, with high cheekbones and a lot of ruggedness in it.
“Ignati!” the girl exclaimed over my shoulder.
He began to talk what I suppose was Russian to the girl. She laughed and replied. He shook his big head stubbornly, insisting on something. She stamped her foot and spoke sharply. He shook his head again and addressed me.
“General Pleshskev, he tell me bring Princess Sonya to home.”