"If you will help me, please, madame," I suggested. "He is very heavy, as you say."
"But gladly, monsieur. If you will turn him over—so that we may see if he breathes."
The man was breathing, stertorously, long, labored gasps. I could see very little of him, only an unusual breadth of shoulder and a sweeping black beard. But I experienced an odd sensation of distaste as I touched him, and snatched my hands away. The woman began to sob.
"Oh, monsieur, he will choke! He will choke!"
I felt like a cur, and promptly braced my hands beneath his chest. I started to lift him—and my wrists were caught in a human vice. So quickly that I could not follow his movements, the inert man on the floor had twisted me down beside him, his knee was on my chest, my wind was cut off, a pair of steel handcuffs fettered me, and as I opened my mouth to scream a cotton gag was thrust into place by the woman who had lured me in.
"Voilà!" she said complacently, knotting the cords of the gag around my neck. "Or if you'd rather have it in American, Mr. Nash, you're it. Here, Toutou, get off him. You won't help by crushing his chest in."
She gave my captor a shove, and he rose with a growl and a menacing gesture of clawed hands to take a seat by the door. I could see now that he was Toutou or Teodoreschi, cleverly disguised. The black beard concealed his intensely pallid face and fell to his waist. A soft cloth hat hid the fine contour of his skull. His immense chest was minimized by loose, ill-fitting clothes. And the evil green eyes, flaring with animal lusts, were ambushed behind dark spectacles.
"Get up," said the woman.
She stooped and put her hands under my arm-pits, exerting a strength amazing for her size. I staggered up and collapsed on the seat opposite Toutou and as far away from him as I could get. I was weak from the vigor of his handling and the nausea his touch had aroused. Inwardly, I cursed myself for a fool. I had been neatly trapped at the very moment I was priding myself on being on the alert.
The woman sat down opposite me, tossed back the veil which had been hanging loosely around her face, picked up a vanity case and commenced to wipe a generous layer of powder from her cheeks.