a little assistance. We—well—persuaded her to phone your office in an attempt to draw you away before Jacobi got there, and we sent Wilmer after him. Unfortunately it had taken us too long to decide and to persuade Miss O’Shaughnessy to—”
The boy on the sofa groaned and rolled over on his side. His eyes opened and closed several times. The girl stood up and moved into the angle of table and wall again.
“—cooperate with us,” Gutman concluded hurriedly, “and so you had the falcon before we could reach you.”
The boy put one foot on the floor, raised himself on an elbow, opened his eyes wide, put the other foot down, sat up, and looked around. When his eyes focused on Spade bewilderment went out of them.
Cairo left his armchair and went over to the boy. He put his arm on the boy’s shoulders and started to say something. The boy rose quickly to his feet, shaking Cairo’s arm off. He glanced around the room once and then fixed his eyes on Spade again. His face was set hard and he held his body so tense that it seemed drawn in and shrunken.