第33章

"Bathe his forehead with this, Mrs.Matthews," he directed reassuringly."He'll be all right again in a moment.There, see--he's coming around now."

There was a long, fluttering sigh, and Matthews opened his eyes;then a moment's silence; and then he spoke, with an effort, with long pauses between the words:

"Am--I--to--go--now?"

The words seemed to ring absolute terror in the old lady's ears.

She turned, and dropped to her knees on the floor.

"Mr.Kline, Mr.Kline," she sobbed out, "oh, for God's love, don't take him! Let him off, let him go! He's my boy--all I've got!

You've got a mother, haven't you? You know--" The tears were streaming down the sweet, old face again."Oh, won't you, for God's dear name, won't you let him go? Won't--""Stop!" the man cried huskily.He was mopping at his face with his handkerchief."I thought I was case-hardened, I ought to be--but Iguess I'm not.But I've got to do my duty.You're only making it worse for Sammy there, as well as me."Her arms were around his knees now, clinging there.

"Why can't you let him off!" she pleaded hysterically."Why can't you! Why can't you! Nobody would know, and I'd do anything--I'd pay anything--anything--I'll give you ten--fifteen thousand dollars!""My poor woman," he said kindly, placing his hand on her head, "you are talking wildly.Apart altogether from the question of duty, even if I succeeded in hushing the matter up, I would probably at least be suspected and certainly discharged, and I have a family to support--and if I were caught I'd get ten years in the Federal prison for it.I'm sorry for this; I believe it's your boy's first offence, and if I could let him off I would.""But you can--you can!" she burst out, rocking on her knees, clinging tighter still to him, as though in a paroxysm of fear that he might somehow elude her."It will kill him--it will kill my boy.

And you can save him! And even if they discharged you, what would that mean against my boy's life! You wouldn't suffer, your family wouldn't suffer, I'll--I'll take care of that--perhaps I could raise a little more than fifteen thousand--but, oh, have pity, have mercy--don't take him away!"

The man stared at her a moment, stared at the white face on the reclining chair--and passed his hand heavily across his eyes.

"You will! You will!" It came in a great surging cry of joy from the old lady."You will--oh, thank God, thank God!--I can see it in your face!""I--I guess I'm soft," he said huskily, and stooped and raised Mrs.

Matthews to her feet."Don't cry any more.It'll be all right--it'll be all right.I'll--I'll fix it up somehow.I haven't made any arrests yet, and--well, I'll take my chances.I'll get the plate and turn it over to you to-morrow, only--only it's got to be destroyed in my presence.""Yes, yes!" she cried, trying to smile through her tears--and then she flung her arms around her son's neck again."And when you come to-morrow, I'll be ready with the money to do my share, too, and--"But Sammy Matthews shook his head.

"You're wrong, both of you," he said weakly."You're a white man, Kline.But destroying that plate won't save me.The minute a single note printed from it shows up, they'll know back there in Washington that the plate was stolen, and--""No; you're safe enough there," the other interposed heavily.

"Knowing what was up, you don't think I'd give the gang a chance to get them into circulation, do you? I got them all when I got the plate.And"--he smiled a little anxiously--"I'll bring them here to be destroyed with the plate.It would finish me now, as well as you, if one of them ever showed up.Say," he said suddenly, with a catch in his breath, "I--I don't think I know what I'm doing."Mrs.Matthews reached out her hands to him.

"What can I say to you!" she said brokenly, "What--"Jimmie Dale drew back along the wall.A little way from the door he quickened his pace, still moving, however, with extreme caution.

They were still talking behind him as he turned from the corridor into the passageway leading to the store, and from there into the store itself.And then suddenly, in spite of caution, his foot slipped on the bare floor.It was not much--just enough to cause his other foot, poised tentatively in air, to come heavily down, and a loud and complaining creak echoed from the floor.

Jimmie Dale's jaws snapped like a steel trap.From down the corridor came a sudden, excited exclamation in the little old lady's voice, and then her steps sounded running toward the store.In the fraction of a second Jimmie Dale was at the front door.

"Clumsy, blundering fool!" he whispered fiercely to himself as he turned the key, opened the door noiselessly until it was just ajar, and turned the key in the lock again, leaving the bolt protruding out.One step backward, and he was rapping on the counter with his knuckles."Isn't anybody here?" he called out loudly."Isn't any--oh!"--as Mrs.Matthews appeared in the back doorway."A package of cigarettes, please."She stared at him, a little frightened, her eyes red and swollen with recent crying.

"How--how did you get in here?" she asked tremendously.

"I beg your pardon?" inquired Jimmie Dale, in polite surprise.

"I--I locked the door--I'm sure I did," she said, more to herself than to Jimmie Dale, and hurried across the floor to the door as she spoke.

Jimmie Dale, still politely curious, turned to watch her.For a moment bewilderment and a puzzled look were in her face--and then a sort of surprised relief.

"I must have turned the key in the lock without shutting the door tight," she explained, "for I knew I turned the key."Jimmie Dale bent forward to examine the lock--and nodded.

"Yes," he agreed, with a smile."I should say so." Then, gravely courteous: "I'm sorry to have intruded.""It is nothing," she answered; and, evidently anxious to be rid of him, moved quickly around behind the counter."What kind of cigarettes do you want?""Egyptians--any kind," said Jimmie Dale, laying a bill on the counter.