Page 444 - tender-is-the-night

‘They had none. They had nothing—two hundred francs
and some rings. Not even shoe-laces that they could have
hung themselves with!’
Relieved that there had been no Cartes d’Identité Dick
continued.
‘The Italian Countess is still an American citizen. She
is the grand-daughter—‘ he told a string of lies slowly and
portentously, ‘of John D. Rockefeller Mellon. You have
heard of him?’
‘Yes, oh heavens, yes. You mistake me for a nobody?’
‘In addition she is the niece of Lord Henry Ford and so
connected with the Renault and Citroën companies—‘ He
thought he had better stop here. However the sincerity of
his voice had begun to affect the officer, so he continued:
‘To arrest her is just as if you arrested a great royalty of Eng-
land. It might mean—War!’
‘But how about the Englishwoman?’
‘I’m coming to that. She is affianced to the brother of the
Prince of Wales—the Duke of Buckingham.’
‘She will be an exquisite bride for him.’
‘Now we are prepared to give—‘ Dick calculated quickly,
‘one thousand francs to each of the girls—and an additional
thousand to the father of the ‘serious’ one. Also two thou-
sand in addition, for you to distribute as you think best—‘
he shrugged his shoulders, ‘—among the men who made
the arrest, the lodging-house keeper and so forth. I shall
hand you the five thousand and expect you to do the nego-
tiating immediately. Then they can be released on bail on
some charge like disturbing the peace, and whatever fine

444 Tender is the Night