Chiun did not turn. He raised, a hand over his head as if in dismissal.
Remo sighed and reluctantly started to untie the gag from Valerie's mouth. It was triple-knotted, and the square knots he had used had given way to some other kind of knot Remo had never seen before. His fingers had to pick tightly at the strands of drapery sash before he got the gag off.
"He did it, he did it," said Valerie. She nodded at Chiun.
"Shhhhh," Chiun hissed
"Shut up," Remo said to Valerie. "Where's Bobbi?"
"They came for her. Three men in the yellow feathered robes. I tried to tell him, but he tied me up again. Pig!" she shouted across the room at Chiun.
"Kid, do yourself a favor and knock that off," Remo said.
A commercial came on the television. For the next two minutes and five seconds, Remo had Chiun to himself.
"Chiun, did you see them take Bobbi?"
"If you mean was I awakened from my few golden moments of rest by uncalled for intrusions, yes. If you mean when I came out here, did this disciple of the open mouth verbally abuse me with her noise, yes. If you mean-"
"I mean did you see the three men take the other girl away?"
"If you mean, did I see three creatures who looked like the big bird on the children's program, yes. I laughed, they were so funny."
"And you just let them go?" Remo said.
"This one was making enough noise for two persons, even through the gag that was so ineptly tied. I did not need a second female here to make even more noise. If they had promised to come back for this one, I would have put her outside the door to await them, as if she were an empty bottle of milk."
"Dammit, Chiun. Those were the people I wanted. We've been looking for them. What do you think we've had these girls here for? In the hope that those Indians would come to us."
"Correction. You have been looking for those people. I have carefully avoided looking for them."
"That girl's going to be killed. I hope you're proud of yourself."
"There are too many tennis players in the world already."
"She's going to have her heart cut out."
"Perhaps they will settle for her tongue."
"That's right. Make fun," Valerie shrieked. "You miserable old man."
Chiun turned around and looked behind him.
"Who is she talking to?" he asked Remo.
"Ignore her."
"I try to. I came out of my room and I was so kind as to untie her mouth. That proves that even the Master is not beyond error. The noise that came out. So I retied her."
"And you just let those three yellow ostriches take Bobbi away?"
"I was getting tired of talking about tennis," said Chiun. "It is a stupid game anyway."
The commercial ended, and he turned his face away from Remo and back toward the television set, where Dr. Ranee McMasters was congratulating Mrs. Wendell Waterman on her elevation to acting chairman of the Silver City Bicentennial Commission, a post she was hastily named to when the permanent chairman, Mrs. Ferd Delanettes, contracted a terminal case of syphilis, given her by Dr. Ranee McMasters, who was now talking softly to Mrs. Waterman, preparatory to giving her a dose of her own in the twenty-three hours and thirty minutes between the end of this day's episode and the start of tomorrow's.
"Is there any chance, any slight chance," Remo asked Valerie, "that while those dingdongs were here, you kept your mouth shut long enough to hear anything they said?"
"I heard every word, freak," she said.
"Give me a few."
"The biggest one-"
"Did you ever see any of them before?" Remo asked.
"What a stupid question!" Valerie said. "How many people do you see in New York wearing yellow feathers?"
"More this year than last. They weren't born with feathers, you know. Underneath there are men. They look like men. Did you recognize any of them?"
"No."
"Okay, what'd they say?"
"The biggest one said, 'Miss Delpheen?' and she nodded, and he said, 'You are coming with us.' "
"And what happened?"
"They untied her and-"
"Did she say anything?"
"No. What could she say?"
"I'll bet you could have thought of something. What else?"
"Then they took her by the hands and walked out the door. That one-" She nodded to Chiun, "He came out of the bedroom. He saw them, but instead of trying to stop them, he went and turned on the television set. They left. I tried to call him, and he untied my mouth, but when I told him that she had been kidnapped, he tied my mouth again."
"Good for him," said Remo. "So you don't know where they went?"
"No," said Valerie. "Are you going to untie me?"
"I'm going to sleep on it," Remo said.
"They went to the Edgemont Mansion in Englewood, wherever that is," Chiun said softly without turning from the television.
"How do you know that?" Remo asked.