Criminals -- Fiction; Social problems -- Fiction; United States -- Social conditions -- 1865-1918 -- Fiction
"I can’t tell you, sir."
The policeman looked at her boldly, and then he took her round arm in
his big hand and turned her toward the open door.
"Inspector," he said, "this girl wants to see her brother. What’s his
name?" he asked again, turning to Gusta.
"Koerner, sir," said Gusta, speaking to the scowling inspector, "Archie
Koerner."
Inspector McFee, an old officer who had been on the police force for
twenty-five years, eyed her suspiciously. His short hair was dappled
with gray, and his mustache was clipped squarely and severely on a level
with his upper lip. Gusta had even greater fear of him than she had of
the policeman, who now released his hold of her arm. Instinctively she
drew away from him.
"Archie Koerner, eh?" said the inspector in a gruff voice.
At the name, a huge man, swart and hairy, in civilian’s dress, standing
by one of the big windows, turned suddenly and glowered at Gusta from
under thick black eyebrows. His hair, black and coarse and closely
clipped, bristled almost low enough on his narrow forehead to meet his
heavy brows. He had a flat nose, and beneath, half encircling his
broad, deep mouth, was a black mustache, stubbed and not much larger
than his eyebrows. His jaw was square and heavy. A gleam showed in his
small black eyes and gave a curiously sinister aspect to his black
visage.
"What’s that about Koerner?" he said, coming forward aggressively.
Gusta shrank from him. She felt herself in the midst of powerful, angry
foes.
"You say he’s your brother?" asked the inspector.
"Yes, sir."
"What do you want of him?"
"Oh, I just want to see him, sir," Gusta said. "I just want to talk to
him a minute--that’s all, sir."
Her blue eyes were swimming with tears.
"Hold on a minute," said the man of the dark visage. He went up to the
inspector, whispered to him a moment. The inspector listened, finally
nodded, then took up a tube that hung by his desk and blew into it. Far
away a whistle shrilled.
"Let this girl see Koerner," he said, speaking into the tube, "in
Kouka’s presence." Then, dropping the tube, he said to Gusta:
"Go down-stairs--you can see him."
The policeman took her by the arm again, and led her down the hall and
down the stairs to the turnkey’s room. The turnkey unlocked a heavy
door and tugged it open; inside, in a little square vestibule, Gusta saw
a dim gas-jet burning. The turnkey called:
"Koerner!"
Then he turned to Gusta and said:
"This way."
She went timidly into the vestibule and found herself facing a heavy
door, crossed with iron bars. On the other side of the bars was the
face of Archie.
"Hello, Gusta," he said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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