Criminals -- Fiction; Ex-convicts -- Fiction; Love stories
“Good for you, Larry,” Casey whispered warmly as he went by with Barney.
“I knew you were going to win out, though it might be an extra-inning
game!”
At the door Barlow paused. “I hope I've done everything all right, Miss
Sherwood?”
“Yes--as far as I know, Mr. Barlow.”
Again Barlow started out, and again turned. “And you, Brainard,” he
said, rather grudgingly, “I guess you needn't worry any about that
charge against you. It'll be dropped.”
And with that Barlow followed his men and his prisoners out of the room.
Then for a moment there was silence. As Larry saw and felt that moment,
it was a moment so large that words would only make a faltering failure
in trying to express it. He himself was suddenly free of all clouds
and all dangers. He had succeeded in what he had been trying to do with
Maggie. A father and a daughter were meeting, with each knowing their
relationship, for the first time. There was so much to be said, among
all of them, that could only be said as souls relaxed and got acquainted
with each other.
It was so strained, so stupendous a moment that it would quickly have
become awkward and anti-climacteric but for the tact of Miss Sherwood.
“Mr. Brainard,” she began, in her smiling, direct manner, with a touch
of brisk commonplace in it which helped relieve the tension, “I want
to apologize to you for the way I treated you late this afternoon. As I
said, I've just had a talk with Dick and he's told me everything--except
some things we may all have to tell each other later. I was entirely
in the wrong, and you were entirely in the right. And the way you've
handled things seems to have given Dick just that shock which you said
he needed to awaken him to be the man it's in him to be. I'm sure we all
congratulate you.”
She gave Larry no chance to respond. She knew the danger, in such an
emotional crisis as this, of any let-up. So she went right on in her
brisk tone of ingratiating authority.
“I guess we've all been through too much to talk. You are all coming
right home with me. Mr. Brainard and Mr. Ellison live there, I'm their
boss, and they've got to come. And you've got to come, Miss Ellison, if
you don't want to offend me. I won't take 'no.' Besides, your place is
near your father. Wear what you have on; in a half a minute you can put
enough in a bag to last until to-morrow. To-morrow we'll send in for
the rest of your things--whatever you want--and send a note to your Miss
Grierson, paying her off. You and your father will have my car,” she
concluded, “Mr. Brainard and Dick will ride in Dick's car, and Mr. Hunt
will take me.”
And as she ordered, so was it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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