Champagne in the glass is a beautiful thing to see. So is water,
the morning after. That is the fault with frolic; there is always an
inescapable rebound. The most violent love drops into humdrum tolerance.
A pessimist is only a poor devil who has anticipated the inevitable; he
has his headache at the start. Mental champagnes have their aftermaths
even as the juice of the grape.
Hawksley and Kitty, hurrying back, began to taste lees. They began to
see things, too--menace in every loiterer, threat in every alley. They
had had a glorious lark; somewhere beyond would be the piper with an
appalling bill. They exaggerated the dangers, multiplied them; perhaps
wisely. There would be no let-down in their vigilance until they reached
haven. But this state of mind they covered with smiling masks, banter,
bursts of laughter, and flashes of wit.
They were both genuinely frightened, but with unselfish fear. Kitty's
fear was not for herself but for Johnny Two-Hawks. If anything happened
the blame would rightly be hers. With that head he wasn't strictly
accountable for what he did; she was. A firm negative on her part and
he would never have left the apartment. And his fear was wholly for this
astonishing girl. He had recklessly thrust her into grave danger. Who
knew, better than he, the implacable hate of the men who sought to kill
him?
Moreover, his strength was leaving him. There was an alarming weakness
in his legs, purely physical. He had overdone, and if need rose he would
not be able to protect her. Damnable fool! But she had known. That was
the odd phase of it. She hadn't come blindly. What mood had urged her
to share the danger along with the lark? Somehow, she was always just
beyond his reach, this girl. He would never forget that fan popping out
of the pistol, the egg burning in the pan.
The apartment was only three blocks away when Kitty decided to drop her
mask. "I'd give a good deal to see a policeman. They are never around
when you really want them. Johnny Two-Hawks, I'm a little fool! You
wouldn't have left the apartment but for me. Will you forgive me?"
"It is I who should ask forgiveness. I say, how much farther is it?"
"Only about two blocks; but they may be long ones. Let's step into this
doorway for a moment. I see a taxicab. It looks to be standing opposite
the building. Don't like it. Suppose we watch it for a few minutes?"
Hawksley was grateful for the respite; and together they stared at the
unwinking red eye of the tail light. But no man approached the cab or
left it.