Granquist opened her eyes and turned her head slowly and looked down at Kells. She opened her mouth a little and tried to speak. Then the Filipino took her arm and guided her down the stair, to a low chair between Kells and Crotti. She sank down into it, and the Filipino took a little knife out of his pocket and reached behind her and cut the twisted cord that held her hands. She leaned back and put her hands up to her face.
MacAlmon walked to the door and back. Crotti asked: “How do you feel, sister?” Granquist didn’t move or show in any way that she had heard.
Kells sat down in the big chair, and Beery sat down again on the edge of the table.
Kells took a thin black card case out of his pocket and removed a card and spoke over his shoulder, to Beery: “Got a pencil?”
MacAlmon had come back from the door and was standing near Kells. He took a silver pencil out of his vest pocket, handed it to him. Hesse got up and went out into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water and put it down on the arm of Granquist’s chair. He tapped her shoulder, smiled down at her. She took her hands away from her face a moment and stared blankly up at him, then she put her hands back over her eyes.
“How many men have you got outside?” Kells glanced at Crotti. Crotti wasn’t smiling any more. His wide-set eyes were very serious.
He said: “Two — one car.” He took a dark green cigar out of his breast pocket, bit off the end, lighted it.
Kells was watching him, smiling faintly. Crotti looked up from lighting his cigar, nodded slowly, emphatically.
Hesse said: “I’ve got just my chauffeur — he is waiting...” Kells put the card down on the arm of his chair, scribbled something on it. He said: “You can send Carl, here” — he jerked his head toward the slight nervous man — “and whoever’s outside after the dough. Berry will go along and tell ’em where to go.” He was looking at Carl. “When you’re paid off, Beery will call us here and you can okay it for your boss.” He nodded at Crotti.
Crotti was smiling again. He said: “All right.”