the door of his hotel room as if he expected one of Hughes'
confederates to burst through the door at any moment.
"Don't you remember?" said Hughes. "We spoke for more than an
hour last night, after you addressed the Royal Ornithological
Society."
"What has this got to do with birds?" said Roosevelt. "And
you'd better come up with a good answer. I'm not a patient man
when I'm rudely awakened in the middle of the night."
"You don't remember," said Hughes accusingly.
"Remember _what_?"
Hughes pulled out a badge and handed it to the American. "I
am a captain of the London Metropolitan Police. After your speech
we talked and you told me how you had single-handedly captured
three armed killers in your Wild West."
Roosevelt nodded. "I remember."
"I was most favorably impressed," said Hughes.
"I hope you didn't wake me just to tell me that."
"No -- but it was the fact that you have personally dealt
with a trio of brutal killers that made me think -- hope, actually
-- that you might be able to help me." Hughes paused awkwardly as
the American continued to stare at him. "You _did_ say that if I
ever needed your assistance..."
"Did I say to request it in the middle of the night?" growled
Roosevelt, finally putting his pistol back on his bedtable.
"Try to calm yourself. Then I'll explain."
"This is as calm as I get under these circumstances."
Roosevelt took off his nightshirt, tossed it on the fourposter
bed, then walked to an ornate mahogany armoire, pulled out a pair
of pants and a neatly-folded shirt, and began getting dressed.
"Start explaining."
"There's something I want you to see."
"At this hour?" said Roosevelt suspiciously. "Where is it?"
"It's not far," said Hughes. "Perhaps a twenty-minute
carriage ride away."
"What is it?"
"A body."
"And it couldn't wait until daylight?" asked Roosevelt.
Hughes shook his head. "If we don't have her in the morgue by
daylight, there will be panic in the streets."
"I'm certainly glad you're not given to exaggeration,"
remarked Roosevelt sardonically.
"If anything," replied the small Englishman seriously, "that
was an understatement."
"All right. Tell me about it."
"I would prefer that you saw it without any preconceptions."
"Except that it could cause a riot if seen in daylight."
"I said a panic, not a riot," answered Hughes, still without
smiling.
Roosevelt buttoned his shirt and fiddled with his tie. "What
time is it, anyway?"
