'What the fucking hell do you think you're doing?' he snarled feebly. Glodstone recoiled. He knew exactly what he'd been doing, reviving one of the most dangerous gangsters in the world. It didn't seem the time to say so.
'Now just take it easy,' he muttered and hoped to hell the swine wasn't carrying a gun. He should have thought of that before. 'You've had a nasty fall and you may have broken something.'
'Like what?' said Botwyk, peering at his shape.
'Well, I don't really know. I'm not an expert in these things but you don't want to move in your condition.'
'That's what you fucking think,' said Botwyk, whose memory of some of the horrors he had been through was slowly returning.
'Just wait till I lay my hands on the bastard who strangled me.'
'That's not what I mean,' said Glodstone, who shared his feelings about Peregrine. 'I'm just advising you not to move. You could do yourself an injury.'
'When I get out of here I'm going to do more than an injury to that son of a bitch. You'd better believe me. I'm going to '
'Quite,' said Glodstone to prevent hearing the gory details. He didn't want any part of that retribution. 'Anyway, it was a good thing I happened to be passing and saw you fall. You'd have been dead by now if I hadn't rescued you.'
'I guess that's so,' said Professor Botwyk grudgingly. 'And you say you saw me fall?'
'Yes. I dived in and swam across and managed to pull you out,' said Glodstone, and felt a little better. At least he'd established an alibi. Professor Botwyk's next remark questioned it.
'Let me tell you something, brother. I didn't fall. I was pushed.'
'Really?' said Glodstone, trying to mix belief with a reasonable scepticism. 'I mean, you're sure you're not suffering from shock and concussion?'
'Sure I'm not sure,' said Botwyk, whose latent hypochondria had been understandably aroused, 'the way I feel I could have anything. But one thing's certain. Some goon jumped me and the next thing I'm down here. In between being strangled, of course.'
'Good Lord,' said Glodstone, 'and did you...er...see who...er...jumped you?'
'No,' said Botwyk grimly, 'but I sure as shit mean to find out and when I do...'
He tried to raise himself onto an elbow but Glodstone intervened. It was awful enough to be stranded on a ledge with a murderous gangster without the swine learning there was nothing much the matter with him.
'Don't move,' he squawked, 'it's vital you don't move. Especially your head.'
'My head? What's so special about my head?' asked Botwyk, 'It's not bleeding or something?'
'Not as far as I can tell,' said Glodstone, edging round towards the Professor's feet. 'Of course, it's too dark to see exactly but I'd '
'So why the spiel about not moving it?' said Botwyk eyeing him nervously.
'I'd rather not say,' said Glodstone, 'I'm just going to...'
'Hold it there,' said Botwyk, now in a state of panic, 'I don't give a dimestore damn what you'd rather not say. I want to hear it.'
'I'm not sure you do.'
'Well, I fucking am. And what the hell are you taking my shoes off for?'
'Just making a few tests,' said Glodstone.
'On my feet? So what's with my head? You start yapping about my fucking head and not moving it and all and now you're doing some tests down there. Where's the goddam connection?'
'Your spine,' said Glodstone sombrely. The next moment he was having to hold the Professor
