Gangsters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Fiction; Mystery fiction
And now a pucker came and gathered her forehead into little furrows, and
anxiety and perplexity crept into her eyes. Another thought tormented
her. In the exposure that was to come the Adventurer, alias the Pug, was
involved. Was there any way to save the man to whom she owed so much,
the splendidly chivalrous, high-couraged gentleman she loved, the thief
she abhorred?
She pushed the remains of her frugal meal away from her, stood up
abruptly from the rickety washstand at which she had been seated, and
commenced to pace nervously up and down the stark, bare garret. Where
was the line of demarcation between right and wrong? Was it a grievous
sin, or an infinitely human thing to do, to warn the man she loved, and
give him a chance to escape the net she meant to furnish the police? He
was a thief, even a member of the gang--though he used the gang as his
puppets. Did ethics count when one who had stood again and again between
her and peril was himself in danger now? Would it be a righteous thing,
or an act of despicable ingratitude, to trap him with the rest?
She laughed out shortly. Warn him! Of course, she would warn him! But
then--what? She shivered a little, and her face grew drawn and tired.
It was the old, old story of the pitcher and the well. It was almost
inevitable that sooner or later, for some crime or another, the man she
loved would be caught at last, and would spend the greater portion of
his days behind prison bars. That was what the love that had come into
her life held as its promise to her! It was terrible enough without her
agency being the means of placing him there!
She did not want to think about it. She forced her mind into other
channels, though they were scarcely less disquieting. Why was it that
during the day just past there had been not a sign from Danglar or any
one of the gang, when every plan of theirs had gone awry last night, and
she had failed to keep her appointment in the role of Danglar's wife?
Why was it? What did it mean? Surely Danglar would never allow what had
happened to pass unchallenged, and--was that some one now?
She halted suddenly by the door to listen, her hand going instinctively
to the wide, voluminous pocket of her greasy skirt for her revolver.
Yes, there was a footstep in the hall below, but it was descending
now to the ground floor, not coming up. She even heard the street door
close, but still she hung there in a strained, tense way, and into her
face there came creeping a gray dismay. Her pocket was empty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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