Christian fiction; Love stories; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Nineteen twenties -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
“Hello there, Kid, did I hurt you?” He paused in his wild rush to set
her on her feet again. “Why, little Lib Knox, is this you?” he said
tenderly, discovering her identity and the tear streaks on her cheeks.
“This is no place for you, child. Come on, take a ride with me.”
But Lib drew a sigh of sobbing and held back.
“No, I gotta stay here,” she said. “I gotta stay here an’ help my Uncle
Darcy.”
“Come on, then an’ we’ll help him.” He swept her under one arm and
marched away, she wearily resisting. “Listen, Kid, I’ve got glad news.
Wait till we sail an’ I’ll tell you who we’re goin’ after.”
Lib suddenly relaxed and looked in his face. There was no mistaking the
light in Dan’s eye. He had really some glad news. Lib climbed into the
machine and sat back wearily, a poor little sinner with all her spirit
gone, and allowed herself to be led away from the scene of her sorrow.
Things had been going hard in there where Uncle Darcy was with the bad
red-haired man. She knew it by the stern look on his face when the door
swung back and she got a glimpse. She knew it by the leer on Tyke’s
evil face, and by the smug exclamations of the ladies who sat in the
back seat and the knowing winks of rough men near the door. She knew it
by the hard set of the old Judge’s mouth as he eyed the witnesses, and
by the way he worried them with questions now and then like a cat with
a mouse. If anything could be glad now, Lib was ready to believe it.
When they had swung the second corner beyond the court house Dan leaned
down and whispered:
“Now, Lib, do you know who we’re going after? Guess?”
“God, I guess,” said Lib drearily. “I guess that’s all’s could help my
Uncle Darcy any. I heard the men say he was as good as hung now!” She
caught a sob with a gulp and let the big tears roll down her worried
little face.
“Well, I guess God had something to do with it,” allowed Dan
comfortably. “He generally does. Cut out that weeping, Lib. That’s not
like you!”
“But it’s all my fault!” she sobbed out, utterly broken at last. “It’s
’cause I went and took that ride with that nasty red-haired man in his
motor cycle. He--he--he made me tell where Uncle Darcy was.”
“Why, how did you know where he was?”
“I--I--I _didunt_!” wept Lib. “I made it up. I told a _lie_. I said he
was in Canada. And I told God it was a lie, huh-huh-huh!” she sobbed.
“But it didunt do any good. God didn’t like it.” Dan put one arm around
her gently.
“There now, Lib, that’s all nonsense. You did a brave thing and it
didn’t have a thing to do with your uncle’s trouble. It probably only
held the man off a little longer. Besides, there’s no need for you
to worry any more. Listen. Who do you think we’re going after? Joyce
Radway. She’s down at Sixty-third Street Station waiting for us now. I
just talked to her over the phone.”
Lib Knox sat up as straight as a pipe stem and her eyes got round and
great behind their tears:
“Then He _did_ hear!” she said in an awestruck tone.
“Who heard?”
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account