The Promise Page 6

  CHAPTER V

  "THIEF!"

  "A man who is a thief!" The words fell distinctly from Carmody's lipswith the studied quiet of desperation. Ethel stared wild-eyed at thespeaker, and in the frozen silence of the room her tiny fists doubleduntil the knuckles whitened.

  Noting the effect upon the girl, he continued, speaking more rapidlynow that the dreaded word had been uttered.

  "I had no wish to tell you this thing. It is a secret I would gladlyhave kept locked within my own breast. But I came here this eveningwith a purpose--to save, in spite of herself, if need be, the daughterof my dead friend from a life of suffering which would inevitably fallto the lot of any pure-hearted woman who linked her life with that ofan unscrupulous scoundrel, in whom even common decency is dead, if,indeed, it ever lived."

  "He is _not_ a thief! He----" began Ethel vehemently, but the maninterrupted her.

  "Wait until you have heard the facts. Last week, on Friday, there wasentrusted to my son's care for delivery a heavy manila envelopecontaining fifty thousand dollars' worth of negotiable bonds. It was amatter of vital importance that these be delivered within a specifiedtime. Ignoring this fact, he pocketed the bonds, and, in company with anumber of his acquaintances, indulged in a drunken spree whichculminated after midnight in a disgraceful street scene in the Broadwaytheatre district.

  "The following morning, when I confronted him, he flouted me to myface, whereupon I virtually disinherited him. Not wishing to turn himaway penniless, I handed him a check for a considerable amount which hesaw fit to destroy melodramatically in my presence. Upon my request forthe return of the securities, he handed me an envelope identical withthat in which the bonds had been placed. I carried the packet to thebank where it was opened and found to contain not the bonds--but thoseletters.

  "To avoid a scandal I made good the loss. I learned later, throughinvestigation, that upon leaving home he came directly to this house,where he remained for upward of a half-hour.

  "Further than this I know nothing of his movements except that hereentered the taxi and proceeded down-town. At Thirty-Fourth Street,where the chauffeur slowed down for instructions, he found the cabempty."

  "And _these_ are the facts upon which you base your accusation?" askedthe girl coldly. "You, his own father!"

  "To an unbiased mind the evidence allows but one interpretation."

  "But his eyes! Oh, can't you see there has been some mistake? His eyesare not the eyes of a thief!"

  "There has been no mistake. A most thorough search of the premises hasfailed to disclose a trace of the missing securities. In his desk fromwhich he took the substituted packet were found several similarenvelopes, but these contained only worthless rubbish--newspaperclippings of sporting events and the like.

  "No, Miss Ethel, when William Carmody left my house that morning hecarried with him those bonds. And he came here, knowing that he was athief, with his pocket bulging with plunder!

  "As I told you, I know nothing of the relations existing between youand my son. I only hope that he has gone forever out of your life, ashe has gone out of mine."

  The light died out of the girl's eyes and her voice sounded strangelydull as she replied:

  "Yes, he has gone out of my life--maybe forever. He came to me here, totell me that he was going away to make good. And I--I was not bigenough to see it. I sent him away with a sneer. Bill is no thief. Forwhat he has been you are to blame--you and the Carmody money. For thefirst time in his life he has a fair chance. He has left New York theman you made him. He will return the man he makes himself. Oh! If--if Ionly----"

  "There, there, Miss Ethel, your loyalty is admirable, if misplaced----"

  "Don't speak to me of loyalty! I have been as narrow and as _mean_as--as _you_ have!"

  "My dear girl, you are overwrought. The sooner we learn that WilliamCarmody has ceased to exist the better it will be for both of us. I bidyou good-night."

  The girl sank into the depths of her big chair and watched thesputtering little jet-flames lick futilely at the artificial logs ofthe fireplace. Believing herself alone, she was startled by the soundof footsteps hurrying noisily across the room. The next instant atousle-headed boy with eyes ablaze was at her side working her handslike pump-handles.

  "By Jimmy, Eth, you're a brick--the way you gave it to him! You betI'll tell Bill how you stuck up for him."

  "Charlie Manton! You were listening--eavesdropping."

  "I didn't! I wasn't! I mean I couldn't help hearing! The door of theden was open and I was in there studying. Old man Carmody is an oldliar!"

  "Charlie!"

  "Well, he is, and you know it! I hate him! You bet he wouldn't darecall Bill a thief to his face! Bill could lick forty-seven like himwith one hand tied behind his back. Bill is square. He wouldn't swipe amillion dollars--let alone a rotten, measly fifty thousand!"

  "Charlie Manton! What kind of talk is that? You ought to be ashamed!"

  "Well, I ain't--so there! And I'm Bill's friend, and I ain't afraid tosay so, either. You do love Bill--and you know it! You can claim youhate him till you're black in the face, but you can't fool _me_! Whatdid you stick up for him for if you hated him? I bet old man Carmodyswiped the bonds himself!"

  "Stop right there! Aren't you ashamed to speak so disrespectfully ofMr. Carmody? He was an old friend of father's."

  "I don't care if he was. I'm an old friend of Bill's, too. And Bill_ain't_ a thief, no matter what he says!"

  "You go to bed this minute. I am surprised and mortified to think thatyou would be so contemptible as to listen to other people's affairs."

  "'Taint any worse than lying!"

  The boy stamped angrily from the room, and the girl sat long by thefire and, one by one, fed letters to the flames.