164 The Foreign Policy of Company 99
"My money on the Japs every time," he de- clared. "Why, look at them Russians they're nothing but wolves. Wipe 'em out, I say and the little old jiu jitsu gang are just the cherry blossoms to do the trick, and don't you forget it!"
The second day after Byrnes's reappear- ance came Demetre Svangvsk, the unidenti- fied, to the engine-house with a broader grin than ever. He managed to convey the idea that he wished to congratulate the hose-cart driver on his recovery and to apologize for having caused the accident. This he accom- plished by so many extravagant gestures and explosive noises that the company was di- verted for half an hour. Then they kicked him out again, and on the next day he_came back grinning. How or where he lived no one knew. And then John Byrnes's nine-year- old son Chris, who brought him convalescent delicacies from home to eat, took a fancy to Svangvsk, and they allowed him to loaf about the door of the engine-house occasionally.
One afternoon the big drab automobile of the Deputy Fire Commissioner buzzed up to the door of No. 99 and the Deputy stepped inside for an informal inspection. The men
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