16 The Saint Overboard

sense, and in fact the dearth of beautiful damsels was become so acute that certain citizens were advocating that their grandmothers should be used instead, in the hope that Angelica might be moved by intellectual endowments where mere physical charm had only aggravated the gobbling, when I came along and . . . Why haven't I told you how beautiful you are, Loretta?'

'Because you haven't noticed?'

'Because it's too true, I think. And so many other ridiculous things have been happening all the time. And I've been so stu­pid . . . They'd have tied you to a tree for Angelica if they'd seen you, Loretta.'

'With nothing on?'

'And everyone would have been asking 'Where's George?' He was a Saint, too.'

There was a breath of cool night air on their faces; and as if there had been no voluntary movement they were outside. There must have been a window or a door, some steps perhaps, some mundane path by which they had walked out of the ballroom into the infinite evening; but it was as if mortar and stone and wood had melted away like shadows to leave them tinder the stars. Their feet moved on a soft carpet of grass, and the music whispered behind them.

Presently she sat down, and he sat behind her. He still kept her hand.

'Well,' he said.

She smiled slowly.

'Well?'

'Apparently it wasn't death,' he said. 'So I suppose it must have been dishonour.'

'It might be both.'

He counted over her fingers and laid them against his cheek.

'You feel alive. You sound alive. Or are we both ghosts? We could go and haunt somebody.'

'You knew something, Simon. When we met on the waterfront——'

'Was it as obvious as that?'

'No. I just felt it.'

'So did I. My heart went pit-a-pat. Then it went pat-a-pit. Then it did a back somersault and broke its bloody neck. It still feels cracked.'

Her other hand covered his mouth.

'Please. Simon. Every minute we stay here is dangerous. They may have missed us already. They may be talking. Tell me what you knew. What happened last night?'

'They caught Steve—slugged him and hauled him out of his canoe. I went back to the Falkenberg and slugged Otto and brought home the blue-eyed boy. Otto never saw me, but I don't know how many other people had inspected the boy friend be­fore I butted in. If the same guy who heard him asking for you at the Hotel de la Mer yesterday had seen him, I knew you were in the book.'

'What about you?'

'Vogel came over shortly afterwards and put on a great show of being shown over the Corsair, while I changed my nappies and did the honours. But he didn't find Steve. I'm still technically anonymous; Steve got away.'

'Who from?'

'From me. In between Vogel going home and me congratulat­ing Orace on the hiding-place, Steve saw the dawn and set a course for it. I saw him again in the morning, when I was trying to reach you before Vogel did and warn you what might be wait­ing—as a matter of fact, he held me up just long enough to let Vogel get in first. I missed seeing you by about thirty seconds. Where Steve is now I don't know, but if you bet your shirt he'll bob up here to-morrow you won't run much risk of being left uncovered.' The Saint turned his face to her, and she saw the dim light shift on his eyes. 'He saw you this morning, didn't he?'

'Yes.'

'Telling you I tried to kidnap him.'

'Yes.'

'And speaking as follows: 'This guy Templar is just a tough crook from Toughville, Crook County, and if