"Yes—"
She looked at me, beaming.
"I've never been there," said I. "I was pretending then."
"I know," she replied.
"You knew?"
"But Robby, of course I knew.
I knew at once."
"I was a bit crazy, then.
Unsure and stupid and crazy.
That's why I pretended."
"And now?"
"Still more now," said I. "There you see it." I pointed to the liner in the window. "It's the devil not to be able to go in it."
She smiled and put her arm in mine.
"Ach, darling, why aren't we rich?
We have such marvellous ideas of what to do with it.
There are so many rich people who can do no better than go backwards and forwards to their banks and offices."
"That's why they are rich, of course," said I. "If we were rich we certainly wouldn't be so for long."
"I believe that too.
We would be sure to lose it one way or another."
"And perhaps from worrying about losing it we would get nothing out of it at all.
These days being rich is a profession in itself.
And not such an easy one, either."
"The poor rich," said Pat. "We'd probably do better to pretend we've been it already and lost everything.
You simply went bankrupt a week ago and had to sell everything —our house and my jewels and your car.
What do you say to that?"
"It fits with the times, at least," I replied.
She laughed.
"Then come.
We two poor bankrupts will go now to our little furnished room and tell each other stories of the good old times."
"That's a fine idea."
We walked on slowly through the darkening street.
More and more lights flamed up.
As we reached the graveyard we saw an aeroplane, with cabins lighted, move across the green sky.
It flew, solitary and beautiful, through the clear, high, lonely heavens—like some wonderful bird of desire out of an old fairy tale.
We stood and watched it till it disappeared.
We had hardly been home half an hour when there was a knock on my bedroom door.
I thought it must be Hasse again and went to open.
But it was Frau Zalewski.
She looked agitated.
"Come out quickly," she whispered.
"What's the matter?"
"Hasse."
I looked at her.
She gave a shrug.
"He has shut himself in and won't answer."
"One moment."
I went back and told Pat she should rest a bit; I had to discuss something with Hasse in the meantime.
"All right, Robby.
I do feel a bit tired again."
I followed Frau Zalewski down the passage.