Irish -- United States -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Runaway wives -- Fiction
She had grown paler and paler during the long recital, her wide-open
eyes staring into his, her bosom heaving with suppressed excitement,
until at the mention of Felix's name, she staggered to her feet, and
cried: “You know Felix O'Day?”
“Yes, thank God, I do, and you are his wife, Lady Barbara O'Day, Lord
Carnavon's daughter.”
She cowered like a trapped animal, uncertain which way to spring. In her
agony she shrank against the wall, her arms outstretched. How did
this man know all the secrets of her life? Then there arose a calming
thought. He was a priest--a man who listened and did not betray.
Perhaps, after all, he could help her. He wanted the truth. He should
have it.
“Yes,” she answered, her voice sinking. “I am Lord Carnavon's daughter.”
“And Felix O'Day's wife?”
“And Felix O'Day's wife,” came the echo, and, with the last word, her
last vestige of strength seemed to leave her.
The priest rose to his full height. “I was sure of it when I first
saw you,” he said, a note of triumph in his voice. “And now, one last
question. Are you guilty of this theft?”
“GUILTY! I guilty! How could I be?” The denial came with a lift of the
head, her eyes kindling, her bosom heaving.
“I believe you. There is not a moment to be lost.” The priest and father
confessor were gone now; it was the man of affairs who was speaking. “I
will see Rosenthal at once, and then send for your nurse. Give me her
address.”
When he had written it, he stepped to the foot of the stairs, and called
to one of the guards. Then he slipped his hand under his cassock, drew
out his watch, noted the hour, and in a firm voice--one intended to be
obeyed--said:
“Go back into your cell and sit there until I come. Do not worry if I
am away longer than I expect, and do not be frightened when the key is
turned on you. It is best that you be locked up for a while. You should
give thanks to God, my dear woman, that I have found you.”
Chapter XXI
The news of Mike's arrest had been received by kitty's neighbors
with varying degrees of indifference. Everybody realized that, as the
run-over boy had lost nothing but his breath--and but little of that,
judging from his vigorous howl when Mike picked him up--nothing would
come of the affair so long as the present captain ruled the precinct.
Kitty and John and all who belonged to them were too popular around the
station; too many of the boys had slipped in and slipped out of a cold
night, warmed up by the contents of her coffee-pot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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