Judge Brewster shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
"If boys of twenty-five are not men they never will be." Looking down at her kindly, he went on: ""Pon my word! if I was twenty-five, I"d let this divorce go through and marry you myself."
"Oh, judge!"
That"s all she could say, but there was grat.i.tude in the girl"s eyes.
These were the first kind words any one had yet spoken to her. It was nice to know that some one saw some good in her. She was trying to think of something to say, when suddenly there was the click of a key being inserted in a Yale lock. The front door opened, and Howard appeared.
"Well, judge!" he exclaimed, "this is a surprise!"
The lawyer looked at him gravely.
"How do you do, young man?" he said. Quizzingly he added: "You look very pleased with yourself!"
"This is the first opportunity I"ve had to thank you for your kindness,"
said Howard cordially.
"You can thank your wife, my boy, not me!" Changing the topic, he said: "So you"re going abroad, eh?"
"Yes, did Annie tell you? It"s only for a few months."
The lawyer frowned. Tapping the floor impatiently with his cane, he said:
"Why are you going away?"
Taken aback at the question, Howard stammered:
"Because--because----"
"Because I want him to go," interrupted Annie quickly.
The lawyer shook his head, and looking steadily at Howard, he said sternly:
"I"ll tell you, Howard, my boy. You"re going to escape from the scandalmongers and the gossiping busy-bodies. Forgive me for speaking plainly, but you"re going away because your wife"s conduct is a topic of conversation among your friends----"
Howard interrupted him.
"You"re mistaken, judge; I don"t care a hang what people say----"
"Then why do you leave her here to fight the battle alone?" demanded the judge angrily.
Annie advanced, and raised her hand deprecatingly. Howard looked at her as if now for the first time he realized the truth.
"To fight the battle alone?" he echoed.
"Yes," said the judge, "you are giving the world a weapon with which to strike at your wife!"
Howard was silent. The lawyer"s words had struck home. Slowly he said:
"I never thought of that. You"re right! I wanted to get away from it all. Father offered me the chance and Annie told me to go----"
Annie turned to the judge.
"Please, judge," she said, "don"t say any more." Addressing her husband, she went on: "He didn"t mean what he said, Howard."
Howard hung his head.
"He"s quite right, Annie," he said shamefacedly. "I never should have consented to go; I was wrong."
Judge Brewster advanced and patted him kindly on the back.
"Good boy!" he said. "Now, Mrs. Jeffries, I"ll tell your husband the truth."
"No!" she cried.
"Then I"ll tell him without your permission," he retorted. Turning to the young man, he went on: "Howard, your wife is an angel! She"s too good a woman for this world. She has not hesitated to sacrifice her good name, her happiness to shield another woman. And that woman--the woman who called at Underwood"s room that night--was Mrs. Jeffries, your stepmother!"
Howard started back in amazement.
"It"s true, then, I did recognize her voice!" he cried.
Turning to his wife, he said: "Oh, Annie, why didn"t you tell me? You saved my stepmother from disgrace, you spared my father! Oh, that was n.o.ble of you!" In a low tone he whispered: "Don"t send me away from you, Annie! Let me stay and prove that I"m worthy of you!"
To the young wife it all seemed like a dream, almost too good to be real. The dark, troubled days were ended. A long life, bright with its promise of happiness, was before them.
"But what of the future, Howard?" she demanded gently.
Judge Brewster answered the question.
"I"ve thought of that," he said. "Howard, will you come into my office and study law? You can show your father what you can do with a good wife to second your efforts."
Howard grasped his outstretched hand.
"Thanks, judge, I accept," he replied heartily.
Turning to his wife, he took her in his arms. Her head fell on his shoulder. Looking up at him shyly and smiling through her tears, she murmured softly:
"I am happy now--at last!"
THE END.
BOOKS ON NATURE STUDY BY CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS
Handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents per volume, postpaid.