第62章

"My sister doesn't intend to cheapen herself by entering that man's presence," he declared, hotly. "I'll deal with him, myself!""All right. But I guess she'd better be here, just the same.

Caroline, I want you."

"She sha'n't come!"

"Yes, she shall. Caroline!"

The boy would have detained him, but he pushed him firmly aside and walked toward the door. Before he reached it, however, his niece appeared.

"Well?" she said, coldly. "What is it you want of me?""I want you to hear Mr. Pearson's side of this business--and mine--before you do anything you'll be sorry for."

"I think I've heard quite enough of Mr. Pearson already. Nothing he can say or do will make me more sorry than I am, or humiliate me more than the fact that I have treated him as a friend."The icy contempt in her tone was cutting. Pearson's face was white, but he spoke clearly and with deliberation.

"Miss Warren," he said, "I must insist that you listen for another moment. I owe you an apology for--""Apology!" broke in Stephen, with a scornful laugh. "Apology!

Well, by gad! Just hear that, Caro!"

The girl's lip curled. "I do not wish to hear your apology," she said.

"But I wish you to hear it. Not for my attitude in the Trolley matter, nor for what I published in the Planet. Nor for my part in the disagreement with your father. I wrote the truth and nothing more. I considered it right then--I told your father so--and Ihave not changed my mind. I should act exactly the same under similar circumstances.""You blackguard!" shouted Stephen. Pearson ignored him utterly.

"I do owe you an apology," he continued, "for coming here, as Ihave done, knowing that you were ignorant of the affair. I believe now that you are misinformed as to the facts, but that is immaterial.

You should have been told of my trouble with Mr. Warren. I should have insisted upon it. That I did not do so is my fault and Iapologize; but for that only. Good evening."He shook himself free from the captain's grasp, bowed to the trio, and left the room. An instant later the outer door closed behind him.

Caroline turned to her brother. "Come, Steve," she said.

"Stay right where you are!" Captain Elisha did not request now, he commanded. "Stevie, stand still. Caroline, I want to talk to you."The girl hesitated. She had never been spoken to in that tone before. Her pride had been already deeply wounded by what she had learned that afternoon; she was fiercely resentful, angry, and rebellious. She was sure she never hated anyone as she did this man who ordered her to stay and listen to him. But--she stayed.

"Caroline," said Captain Elisha, after a moment of silence, "Ipresume likely--of course I don't know for sartin, but I presume likely it's Mrs. Dunn and that son of hers who've told you what you think you know.""It doesn't concern you who told us!" blustered Stephen, pushing forward. He might have been a fly buzzing on the wall for all the attention his uncle paid him.

"I presume likely the Dunns told you, Caroline," he repeated, calmly.

His niece met his gaze stubbornly.

"Well," she answered, "and if they did? Wasn't it necessary we should know it? Oh!" with a shudder of disgust, "I wish I could make you understand how ashamed I feel--how WICKED and ashamed Ifeel that I--_I_ should have disgraced father's memory by . . .

Oh, but there! I can't! Yes; Mrs. Dunn and Malcolm did tell us--many things. Thank God that we HAVE friends to tell us the truth!""Amen!" quietly. "I'll say amen to that, Caroline, any time. Only I want you to be sure those you call friends are real ones and that the truths they tell ain't like the bait on a fishhook, put on FORbait and just thick enough to cover the barb.""Do you mean to insinuate--" screamed the irrepressible nephew, wild at being so completely ignored. His uncle again paid not the slightest attention.

"But that ain't neither here nor there now," he went on. "Caroline, Mr. Pearson just told you that his coming to this house without tellin' you fust of his quarrel with 'Bije was his fault. That ain't so. The fault was mine altogether. He told me the whole story;told me that he hadn't called since it happened, on that very account. And I took the whole responsibility and ASKED him to come.

I did! Do you know why?"