Hall shook his head. "We'll fight that out later," he said. "Cigar?"
Androtten demurred. His heart was not strong enough for cigars that early in the morning, he explained. "In Java I was healthier than an ox," he said. "But the damn Japanese ..." He let the rest of the sentence remain unspoken.
Through the open window of the dining room, Hall saw Pepe's LaSalle drive up to the Bolivar.
He excused himself with an "I'll be seeing you," and walked out to the desk. He handed the cable blank to the day clerk. "Send it press rate collect," he said.
Pepe had a message for Hall from Souza. Ansaldo had returned to the Bolivar at 3:14 A.M., twenty-three minutes before Wilhelm Androtten. They had both left calls to be awakened at eight in the morning.
"That all Souza said?"
"That is the complete message."
"Well, it's something, anyway." The papers said that Ansaldo was to spend the morning at the bedside of President Tabio.
"Where to?"
"Gobernacion Building. But not right away. Drive somewhere where we can have a coffee together. I'd like to talk to you first."