"You like me?"
Graham bent forward and kissed her mouth.
"You love me?"
The boy laughed.
"S-s-s-h! Eef you love me, eef you really and truly love me, I vill
to-night ask you to prove eet."
"I've been waiting," said Graham, with a sudden touch of passion.
"Zen take me avay from this 'ell. I 'ave a soul. Eet ees killing me. I
'ave a longing for God's air. Take me back to eet. The Papowsky ees a
vile woman. She lure me 'ere and I am a prisoner. You do not know the
'orrors of zis place. I am young. I am almost a child. I was good and I
can be good again. At once, when you come 'ere, I saw in you one who
might rescue me from zis. I love you. You say you love me. I beseech you
to take me away."
Graham was stirred by this emotional appeal whispered in his ear, by the
young arms that were flung round his neck, and by the little body that
was all soft against him. His sense of chivalry and his innate desire
for adventure were instantly set ablaze. At the same time, what could he
do with this strange little girl? Where could he put her?
He began to whisper back something of his inability to help, but a hand
was quickly placed over his mouth.
"Eef you believe in God, take me away. I do not care what you do with
me. I do not care eef you make me work for my bread. You are not like ze
rest. You too are young and you are a man, and I love you. I will be
your servant--your slave. I will kiss your feet. I will give you myself.
I will wait on you 'and and foot. Give me a little room near ze sky and
see me once a day, but take me out of this evil place--I am being
poisoned. Vill you do zis? Vill you?" She slipped down on her knees and
clasped her hands together.
In the faint blue light Graham could see the large eyes of the girl
looking up at him through tears, as though to a saviour. Her whole
attitude was one of great appeal. Her young, slim body trembled and the
throbbing of her voice with its curious foreign accent moved him to an
overwhelming pity. Here then was something that he could do--was a way
in which he could exercise his bottled up sense of adventure which had
hitherto only been kept in some sort of control by gambling and running
risks.
"Do you mean that you're forced to remain here,--that you can't get out
if you want to?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I tell you I was caught like a wild bird and zis ees my
cage. Ze door ees guarded."
A great excitement seized the boy. He lifted Ita up and put his mouth to
her ear. "You've come to the right man. I'll get you out of this. I
always loathed to see you here,--but how's it to be done? She has eyes
in the back of her head, and those damned Japanese servants are
everywhere."
"Eeet ees for you to sink," said the girl. "You are a man."
"I see," said Graham. "Right. Leave it to me."
He liked being made responsible. He liked the utter trust which this
girl placed in him. He liked the feeling of danger. The whole episode
and its uncanny romance caught hold of him. It was not every day that in
the middle of civilization the chance came to do something which smacked
of mediaevalism--which had in it something of the high adventure of
Ivanhoe.
He said: "Get away quick and put your clothes on. Don't pack
anything--just dress. There won't be any one in the roulette room until
after twelve. Go in there and hide behind the curtains and wait for me.
Quick, now!"
Once more the girl flung her arms about him and put her lips to his
mouth.
For several minutes Graham remained alone in the alcove, with his blood
running swiftly through his veins--his brain hard at work. The woman on
the dais was still singing. In the vague, uncertain light he could see
the Papowsky curled up on a divan near by, smoking a cigarette. Other
people had come in and made groups among the foolish rockery. Then he
got up quietly, went out into the passage and looked about. He had never
before explored the place, he only knew the studio and the roulette
room. It dawned upon him that this apartment was just beneath the roof
of the building. Somewhere or other there was likely to be an outlet to
the fire-escape. That was the idea. He had it. The girl had said that it
would be impossible to take her away by the main door. Those Japanese
servants were evidently watch-dogs. Even as he stood there, wondering,
he saw that he was eyed by a small, square-shouldered Japanese whose
head seemed to be too large for his body and whose oily deferential grin
was not to be trusted. He lit a cigarette, and putting on what he
considered to be an air of extreme nonchalance, strolled along until he
came to the roulette room. No one was there. The candelabra were only
partially alight. He darted quickly to the window and flung it up. The
iron steps of the fire-escape ran past it to the roof. "Fine!" he said
to himself. "Now I know what to do."
He shut the window quickly and turned round just as the man who had been
watching him came in. "Say!" he said. "Just go and get me a high-ball.
Bring it here." He followed the man to the door and into the passage and
watched him waddle away. He had not been there more than a moment when
the door opposite opened bit by bit, and the girl's face, with large
frightened eyes, peeped round the corner. In a little black hat and a
plain frock with a very tight skirt she looked younger and prettier and
more in need of help than ever. Without a word, Graham caught hold of
her hand, drew her into the passage, shut her door, ran her into the
roulette room and placed her behind the curtains, making sure that her
feet were hidden. Whistling softly to himself he sat down and waited.
The man seemed to have been gone half an hour. It was really only a few
minutes before he waddled back on his heels. Graham took the drink. "How
soon do you think they'll begin to play to-night?" he asked, keeping his
voice steady with a huge effort.
The Japanese shrugged his shoulders. "As usual, sir," he said, smiling
from ear to ear and rubbing his hands together as though he were washing
them. "Any time after twelve, sir--any time, sir."
"All right!" said Graham. "I shall wait here."
He kept up the air of boredom until he imagined that the small,
black-haired, olive-tinted man had had time to get well away. Then he
sprang to the door, saw that the passage was empty, darted back into
the room and over to the window.
"Come on!" he said. "Quick's the word!" and climbed out, giving the girl
his hand. For a moment they stood together on the ledge of the
fire-escape, the stairs of which seemed to run endlessly down. With a
chuckle of triumph Graham shut the window, as the girl gave a little cry
of dismay.
She had called that place hell, but from the height on which they stood
it seemed as though they were climbing down from the sky.