"Don't cry! For God's sake, don't cry!" he whispered hoarsely. "I
know it was all a mistake. It must have been a mistake. How could
anybody have been so wicked, so utterly senseless, as to believe
you guilty of--of--what did they accuse you of?"
"Stealing," whispered the girl.
"'Stealing?' What nonsense!"
He put a wealth of disdain into the words. She sat up straighter.
She dropped her hands from her face and looked at him. Dark as it
was on the bench, he could see that her expression was one of
wonder.
"Do--do you really feel that way about it, Captain Latham?"
"It is ridiculous!" he acclaimed heartily.
She sighed. Her momentary animation fell and she spoke again:
"It did not seem ridiculous to the police or to the magistrate. I
worked in a store. A piece of sterling silverware disappeared. Other
pieces had previously been stolen. The police traced the last
missing piece to a pawnshop. The pawnbroker testified that a girl
pawned it. His identification of me was close enough to satisfy the
judge."
"My God!"
"I was what they call a first offender. At least, I had no police
record. Ordinarily I might have been let go under suspended sentence
or been put on probation.
Pages:
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104