"I will," she murmured, "I will tell you all about the dreadful things that have happened to me; but not here," she added, with an anxious glance around. "Will you take me to some place where I shall be safe?"
she continued, appealingly. "I have no place to go unless it is to some hotel, and I shrink from a public house."
"My child, why are you trembling so?" the young man inquired, as he saw she was shaking from head to foot. "I am very glad," he added, "that I was inspired to board the train at the crossing, and thus can give you my protection in the confusion of your arrival."
"I am glad, too; it was very thoughtful of you," said Edith, appreciatively; "but--but I am also going to need your help again in a legal way."
He started slightly at this; but replied, cheerfully:
"You shall have it; I am ready to throw myself heart and hand between you and any trouble of whatever nature. Now about a safe place for you to stay while you are in the city. I have a married cousin who lives on West Fortieth street; we are the best of friends and she will gladly entertain you at my request, until you can make other arrangements."
"But to intrude upon an entire stranger--" began Edith, looking greatly disturbed.
"Nellie will not seem like a stranger to you, two minutes after you have been introduced to her," the young man smilingly returned. "She is the dearest, sweetest little cousin a man ever had, and she has an equal admiration for your humble servant. She will thank me for bringing you to her, and I am sure that you will be happy with her.
But why do you start so?--why are you so nervous?" he concluded, as she sprang from her seat, when the train stopped, and looked wildly about her.
"I am afraid," she gasped.
"Afraid of what?" he urged, with gentle persistence.
"Of a man who has been persecuting me," she panted, the look of anxious fear still in her eyes. "I ran away from him to-day, and I have been afraid, all the way to New York, that he would telegraph ahead of the train, and have me stopped--that was why I sent the message to you."
"I am very glad you did," said the young man, gravely. "But, Edith, pray do not look so terrified; you are sure to attract attention with that expression on your face. Calm yourself and trust me," he concluded, as he took her hand and laid it upon his arm.
"I do--I will," she said; but her fingers closed over his with a spasmodic clasp which told him how thoroughly wrought up she was.
"Have you a trunk?" he inquired, as they moved toward the door, the train having now entered the Grand Central Station.
"No; I left everything but a few necessary articles--I can send for it later by express," she responded.
The young man a.s.sisted her from the train, then replacing her hand upon his arm, was about to signal for a carriage when they were suddenly confronted by a policeman and brought to a halt in the most summary manner.
"Sorry to trouble you, sir," said the man, speaking in a business-like tone to Mr. Bryant, "but I have orders to take this lady into custody."
CHAPTER XXIV.
A SAD STORY DISCLOSED TO AN EAGER LISTENER.
Royal Bryant was not very much surprised by this abrupt information and interference with their movements.
What Edith had said to him, just before getting out of the train, had suggested the possibility of such an incident, consequently he was not thrown off his guard, as he might otherwise have been.
At the same time he flushed up hotly, and, confronting the officer with flashing eyes, remarked, with freezing hauteur:
"I do not understand you, sir. I think you have made a mistake; this lady is under my protection."
"But I have orders to intercept a person answering to this lady"s description," returned the policeman, but speaking with not quite his previous a.s.surance.
"By whose orders are you acting, if I may inquire?" demanded the young man.
"A Boston party."
"And the lady"s name, if you please?"
"No name is given, sir; but she is described as a girl of about twenty, pure blonde, very pretty, slight and graceful in figure, wearing a dark-brown dress and jacket and a brown hat with black feathers. She will be alone and has no baggage," said the policeman, reading from the telegram which he had received some two hours previous.
Mr. Bryant smiled loftily.
"Your description hits the case in some respects, I admit," he observed, with an appreciative glance at Edith, who stood beside him outwardly calm and collected, though the hand that rested upon his arm was tense with repressed emotion, "but in others it is wide of its mark. You have her personal appearance, in a general way, and the dress happens to correspond in everything but the hat. You will observe that the lady wears a black hat with a scarlet wing instead of a brown one with black feathers. She did not arrive alone, either, as you perceive, we got off the train together."
The officer looked perplexed.
"What may your name be, sir, if you please?" he inquired, with more civility than he had yet shown.
"Royal Bryant, of the firm of Bryant & Co., Attorneys. Here is my card, and you can find me at my office between the hours of nine and four any day you may wish," the young man frankly returned, as he slipped the bit of pasteboard into the man"s hand.
"And will you swear that you are not aiding and abetting this young lady in trying to escape the legal authority of friends in Boston?"
questioned the policeman, as he sharply scanned the faces before him.
"Ahem! I was not aware that I was being examined under oath,"
responded the young lawyer, with quiet irony. "However, I am willing to give you my word of honor, as a gentleman, that this lady is accountable to no one in Boston for her movements."
"Well, I reckon I have made a mistake; but where in thunder, then, is the girl I"m after?" muttered the officer, with an anxious air.
"Does your telegram authorize you to arrest a runaway from Boston?"
Mr. Bryant inquired, with every appearance of innocence.
"Yes, a girl from the smart set, who don"t want any scandal over the matter," replied the man, referring again to the yellow slip in his hand.
"But she may not have come by the Boston and Albany line," objected Mr. Bryant. "There are several trains that leave the city from different stations about the same time; you may find your bird on a later train, Mr. Officer," he concluded, in a rea.s.suring tone.
"That is so," was the thoughtful response.
"Then I suppose you will not care to detain us any longer," Mr. Bryant courteously remarked. "Come, Edith," he added, turning with a smile to his companion, and then he started to move on.
"Hold on! I"m blamed if I don"t think I"m right after all," said the policeman, in a tone of conviction, as he again placed himself in their path.
Royal Bryant flashed a look of fire at him.
"Have you a warrant for the lady"s arrest?" he sternly demanded.
"No; I am simply ordered to detain her until her friends can come on and take charge of her," the man reluctantly admitted, while he heaved a sigh for the fat plum that had been promised him in the event of his "bagging his game."
"Then, if you are not legally authorized in this matter, I would advise you, as a friend, to make no mistake," gravely returned the young lawyer. "You might heap up wrath for yourself; while, if your patrons are anxious to avoid a scandal, you are taking the surest way to create one by interfering with the movements of myself and my companion. This young lady is my friend, and, as I have already told you, under my protection; as her attorney, also, I shall stand no nonsense, I a.s.sure you."
"Beg pardon, sir; but I"m only trying to obey orders," apologized the official. "But would you have the goodness to tell me this young lady"s name."