I'm no longer your godfather in theory.
Give me the cotton and hold the basin."

He was very tender. The wound bled a little; but it was not the kind
that bled profusely. It was less a cut than a smashing bruise.

"Well, that's all I can do. Who was this tenant Gregory?"

"A dear old man. A valet at a Broadway hotel. Oh, I forgot! Johnny
Two-Hawks called him Stefani Gregor."

"Stefani Gregor?"

"Yes. What is it? Why do you say it like that?"

"Say it like what?"--sparring for time.

"As if you had heard the name before?"

"Just as I thought!" cried Cutty, his nimble mind pouncing upon a
happy invention. "You're romantic, Kitty. You're imagining all sorts of
nonsense about this chap, and you must not let the situation intrigue
you. If I spoke the name oddly--this Stefani Gregor--it was because I
sensed in a moment that this was a bit of the overflow. Southeastern
Europe, where the good Samaritan gets kicked instead of thanked. Now,
here's a good idea. Of course we can't turn this poor chap loose upon
the public, now that we know his life is in danger. That's always the
trouble with this Samaritan business. When you commit a fine action
you assume an obligation. You hoist the Old Man of the Sea on your
shoulders, as it were. The chap cannot be allowed to remain here. So,
if Harrison agrees, we'll take him up to my diggings, where no Bolshevik
will ever lay eyes upon him."

"Bolshevik?"

"For the sake of a handle. They might be Chinamen, for all I know. I can
take care of him until he is on his feet. And you will be saved all this
annoyance.

"But I don't believe it's going to be an annoyance. I'm terribly
interested, and want to see it through."

"If he can be moved, out he goes. No arguments. He can't stay in this
apartment. That's final."

"Exactly why not?" Kitty demanded, rebelliously.

"Because I say so, Kitty."

"Is Stefani Gregor an undesirable?"

"You knew him. What do you say?" countered her godfather, evading the
trap. The innocent child! He smiled inwardly.

Kitty was keen. She sensed an undercurrent, and her first attempt to
touch it had failed. The mere name of Stefani Gregor had not roused
Cutty's astonishment. She was quite positive that the name was not
wholly unfamiliar to her father's friend.

Still, something warned her not to press in this direction. He would be
on the alert. She must wait until he had forgotten the incident. So she
drew up a chair beside the bed and sat down.