Jimmy took a long drink. “I went out with a man I know who’s shiek of all the French and Italian bootleggers. He’s a fine man. He’s got a cork leg. He set me up to a swell feed and real Italian wine out in a deserted poolroom on the shores of Sheepshead Bay....”
“By the way,” asked Roy, “where’s Helena.”
“Dont interrupt Roy,” said Alice. “This is good ... and besides you should never ask a man where his wife is.”
“Then there was a lot of flashing of signal lights and stuff and a motorboat loaded down with Mumm’s extra dry champagne for Park Avenue Christmases came in and the hijackers arrived on a speedboat.... It probably was a hydroplane it came so fast ...”
“My this is exciting,” cooed Alice. “... Roy why dont you take up bootlegging?”
“Worst fight I ever saw outside of the movies, six or seven on a side all slugging each other on a little narrow
landing the size of this room, people crowning each other with oars and joints of lead pipe.”
“Was anybody hurt?”
“Everybody was.... I think two of the hijackers were drowned. At any rate they beat a retreat leaving us lapping up the spilled champagne.”
“But it must have been terrible,” cried the Hildebrands. “What did you do Jimmy?” asked Alice breathless.