quick, so quick that they were like reflex actions. It seemed, when he was on the ground, almost as though he was resting, as though he was dozing a little in order to make sure that when he got into the cockpit he would wake up fresh and quick, ready for that two hours of high concentration. But Stuffy was away from the aerodrome now and he had something on his mind which had waked him up almost like flying. It might not last, but for the moment anyway, he was concentrating.
He looked again in the book for the number, got up and walked slowly over to the telephone. He put in the piastre, dialled the number and heard it ringing the other end. The Stag was sitting at the table looking at him and Tim was still behind the bar arranging his bottles. Tim was only about five yards away and he was obviously going to listen to everything that was said. Stuffy felt rather foolish. He leaned against the bar and waited, hoping that no one would answer.
Then click, the receiver was lifted at the other end and he heard a woman's voice saying, 'Allo.'
He said, 'Hello, is Madame Rosette there?' He was watching Tim. Tim went on arranging his bottles, pretending to take no notice, but Stuffy knew that he was listening.
'This ees Madame Rosette. Oo ees it?' Her voice was petulant and gritty. She sounded as if she did not want to be bothered with anyone just then.
Stuffy tried to sound casual. 'This is Colonel Higgins.'
'Colonel oo?'
'Colonel Higgins.' He spelled it.
'Yes, Colonel. What do you want?' She sounded impatient. Obviously this was a woman who stood no nonsense. He still tried to sound casual.
'Well, Madame Rosette, I was wondering if you would help me over a little matter.'
Stuffy was watching Tim. He was listening all right. You can always tell if someone is listening when he is pretending not to. He is careful not to make any noise about what he is doing and he pretends that he is concentrating very hard upon his job. Tim was like that now, moving the bottles quickly from one shelf to another, watching the bottles, making no noise, never looking around into the room. Over in the far corner the Stag was leaning forward with his elbows on the table, smoking a cigarette. He was watching Stuffy, enjoying the whole business and knowing that Stuffy was embarrassed because of Tim. Stuffy had to go on.
'I was wondering if you could help me,' he said. 'I was in Cicurel's today buying a pair of sunglasses and I saw a girl there whom I would very much like to take out to dinner.'
'What's 'er name?' The hard, rasping voice was more business-like than ever.
'I don't know,' he said, sheepishly.
'What's she look like?'
'Well, she's got dark hair, and tall and, well, she's very beautiful.'
'What sort of dress was she wearing?'
'Er, let me see. I think it was a kind of white dress with red flowers printed all over it.' Then, as a brilliant afterthought, he added, 'She had a red belt.' He remembered that she had been wearing a shiny red belt.
There was a pause. Stuffy watched Tim who wasn't making any noise with the bottles; he was picking them up carefully and putting them down carefully.
Then the loud gritty voice again, 'It may cost you a lot.'
'That's all right.' Suddenly he didn't like the conversation any more. He wanted to finish it and get away.
'Might cost you six pounds, might cost you eight or ten. I don't know till I've seen her. That all right?'
'Yes yes, that's all right.'
'Where you living, Colonel?'
'Metropolitan Hotel,' he said without thinking.
'All right, I give you a ring later.' And she put down the receiver, bang.
Stuffy hung up, went slowly back to the table and sat down.
'Well,' said Stag, 'that was all right, wasn't it?'
'Yes, I suppose so.'
'What did she say?'
'She said that she would call me back at the hotel.'
'You mean she'll call Colonel Higgins at the hotel.'
Stuffy said, 'Oh Christ.'
Stag said, 'It's all right. We'll tell the desk that the Colonel is in our room and to put his calls through to us. 'What else did she say?'
'She said it may cost me a lot, six or ten pounds.'
'Rosette will take ninety per cent of it,' said Stag. 'She's a filthy old Syrian Jewess.'
'How will she work it?' Stuffy said.
He was really a gentle person and now he was feeling worried about having started something which might become complicated.
'Well,' said Stag, 'she'll dispatch one of her pimps to locate the girl and find out who she is. If she's already on the books, then it's easy. If she isn't, the pimp will proposition her there and then over the counter at Cicurel's. If the girl tells him to go to hell, he'll up the price, and if she still tells him to go to hell, he'll up the price still more, and in the end she'll be tempted by the cash and probably agree. Then Rosette quotes you a price three times as high and takes the balance herself. You have to pay her, not the girl. Of course, after that the girl goes on Rosette's books, and once she's in her clutches she's finished. Next time Rosette will dictate the price and the girl will not be in a position to argue.'
'Why?'
'Because if she refuses, Rosette will say, 'All right, my girl, I shall see that your employers, that's Cicurel's, are told about what you did last time, how you've been working for me and using their shop as a market place. Then they'll fire you.' That's what Rosette will say, and the wretched girl will be frightened and do what she's told.'
Stuffy said, 'Sounds like a nice person.'
'Who?'
'Madame Rosette.'
'Charming,' said Stag. 'She's a charming person.'
It was hot. Stuffy wiped his face with his handkerchief 'More whisky,' said Stag. 'Hi, Tim, two more of those.'
Tim brought the glasses over and put them on the table without saying anything. He picked up the empty glasses and went away at once. To Stuffy it seemed as though he was different from what he had been when they first came in. He wasn't cheery any more, he was quiet and offhand. There wasn't any more 'Hi, you fellows, where you been all this time' about him now, and when he got back behind the counter he turned his back and went on arranging the bottles.
The Stag said, 'How much money you got?'
'Nine pounds, I think.'
'May not be enough. You gave her a free hand, you know. You ought to have set a limit. She'll sting you now.'
'I know,' Stuffy said.
They went on drinking for a little while without talking. Then Stag said, 'What you worrying about, Stuffy?'
'Nothing,' he answered. 'Nothing at all. Let's go back to the hotel. She may ring up.'
They paid for their drinks and said good-bye to Tim, who nodded but didn't say anything. They went back to the Metropolitan and as they went past the desk, the Stag said to the clerk, 'If a call comes in for Colonel Higgins, put it through to our room. He'll be there.' The Egyptian said, 'Yes, sir,' and made a note of it.
In the bedroom, the Stag lay down on his bed and lit a cigarette. 'And what am I going to do tonight?' he said.
Stuffy had been quiet all the way back to the hotel. He hadn't said a word. Now he sat down on the edge of the other bed with his hands still in his pockets and said, 'Look, Stag, I'm not very keen on this Rosette deal any more. It may cost too much. Can't we put it off?'
