"I saw there was a weddin' an' I stopped to watch a minute, 'cause I
expect to get married myself some day, an' I wanted to see how they did
things. But I couldn't get near the door, an' the windows were all high
up. I could only see folks who were standing up like you were. So I
thought I'd go on. I turned the corner and went long-side the church
listenin' to the music, an' just as I passed a big iron gate at the
back end of the church somebody grabbed me an' begged me to help 'em. I
looked round, an' there was the bride, all in her white togs, with the
prettiest white satin slippers, in the wet an' mud! I tried to get her
line, but she cried out somebody was comin' back in the passageway, so I
slipped off my coat an' hat and whisked her into 'em an' clapped my
rubbers over her satin shoes, and we beat it round the corner. I took
her to my room, an' gave her some supper. She was all in. Then I put her
to bed, an' she told me a little bit about it. She didn't tell me much.
Only that they had been tryin' fer a long time back to make her marry a
man she hated, an' now they'd almost tricked her into it, an' she'd die
if she had to do it. She wanted to exchange clothes with me, cause, of
course, she couldn't get anywhere togged out that way, so we changed
things, an' I fixed her up. In the mornin' I ran out an' got a paper,
an' found they was sayin' she was temporary insane, an' stuff like that,
an' so I saw their game was tryin' to get her in a 'sylum till they
could make her do what they wanted. I fixed her up an' got her off to a
place I know where she'd be safe. An' she's got a job an' doin' real
well. But now they've got this here reward business out everywhere in
the papers an' the movies, she ain't safe nowhere. An' I want somebody
that's wiser'n me to take a holt an' do somethin'. I can't pay much, but
I'll pay a little every month as long's I live ef it takes that long to
pay yer bill, an' I have a notion she may have some money herself,
though she didn't say nothin' about it. But there's a ring she left with
me to sell, to pay fer what I gave her. It oughtta be worth somethin'.
It looks real. I ain't sold it. I couldn't. I thought she might want it
sometime----"
But Reyburn interrupted her excitedly.
"Do you mean to say that Miss Stanhope is in the city and you know where
she is?"
"Now, don't get excited," warned Jane coolly. "I didn't say she was in
this city, did I? I didn't say where she was, did I? I said she was
safe."
"But are you aware that you have told me a very strange story? What
proof can you give me that it is true?"
Jane looked at him indignantly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account