property-owner who was telling a curt lieutenant of Marines that it was his own personal private automobile that the bandits had stolen to mount their machine gun on, and what he thought should be done about it.
“Yes,” said Roche, “I see your fellow with the whiskers.”
“Well, he’s your meat. The woman and two men with him are also your meat. And those four Russians standing to the left are some more of it. There’s another missing, but I’ll take care of that one. Pass the word to the lieutenant, and you can round up those babies without giving them a chance to fight back. They think they’re safe as angels.”
“Sure, are you?” the sergeant asked.
“Don’t be silly!” I growled, as if I had never made a mistake in my life.
I had been standing on my one good prop. When I put my weight on the other to turn away from the sergeant, it stung me all the way to the hip. I pushed my back teeth together and began to work painfully through the crowd to the other side of the street.
The princess didn’t seem to be among those present. My idea was that, next to the general, she was the most important member of the push. If she was at their house, and not yet suspicious, I figured I could get close enough to yank her in without a riot.
Walking was hell. My temperature rose. Sweat rolled out on me.
“Mister, they didn’t none of ’em come down that way.”
The one-legged newsboy was standing at my elbow. I greeted him as if he were my paycheck.
“Come on with me,” I said, taking his arm. “You did fine down there, and now I want you to do something else for me.”