"It"s all right. He ain"t listenin"."
"What is your brother-in-law"s name?" in a whisper.
"I never had but one name for him, and it"s something I wouldn"t call you for anything in the world," said Smilk. "Let"s make it Bill. You ain"t goin" to do what she asks, are you? You ain"t goin"
to do a dirty trick like that are you,--Bill?"
"I thought I would come down and talk the matter over with you, Cash. I"m in quite a dilemma. She says if I don"t help you out of this sc.r.a.pe she and all your children will haunt me to my dying day.
It sounds rather terrible, doesn"t it?"
"I can"t think of anything worse," acknowledged Ca.s.sius, solemnly.
"She asked me what I thought your sentence would be, and I told her I doubted very much whether you"d get more than a year or so, in view of all the extenuating circ.u.mstances,--that is to say, your self-restraint and all that when you had not only the jewels but the revolver as well. That seemed to cheer her up a bit."
"You made a ten strike that time, Bill," said Smilk, his face brightening. "I didn"t give you credit for bein" so clever. If she thinks I"ll be out in a year or two, maybe she"ll be satisfied to keep her nose out of my affairs. If you had told her I was dead sure to go up for twenty years or so, she"d come and camp over there in the Criminal Courts Building and just raise particular h.e.l.l with everything."
Mr. Yollop turned his face away. "I"m sorry to bring bad news to you, Cash, but she"s made up her mind to attend your trial next Monday. She"s going to bring the children and--"
He was interrupted by the string of horrific oaths that issued, pianissimo, through the twisted lips of the prisoner. After a time, Ca.s.sius interrupted himself to murmur weakly:
"If she does that, I"m lost. We got to head her off somehow, Mr.--er--Bill."
"I don"t see how it can be managed. She has a perfect right to attend the pro--"
"Wait a minute, Bill," broke in the other eagerly. "I got an idea.
If you give her that roll of mine, maybe she"ll stay away."
"What roll are you talking about?"
"My roll of bills,--you remember, don"t you?"
"My good man, I haven"t got your roll of bills. And besides I couldn"t put myself in the position of--of--er--what is it you call it?--tinkering with witnesses to defeat the ends of justice."
"But she ain"t a witness, Bill. You couldn"t possibly get in wrong.
What"s more, it"s my money, and I got a right to give it to my wife, ain"t I? Ain"t I got a right to give money to my own wife,--or to one of my wives, strictly speakin",--and to my own children? Ain"t I?"
"That isn"t the point. I refuse to be a party to any such game. We need not discuss it any farther. As I said before, I haven"t your roll of bills, and if I had it I--"
"Oh, yes, you have. You got it right up there in your apartment. I stuck it away behind a--"
"Stop! Not another word, Ca.s.sius. I don"t want to know where it is.
If you persist in telling me, I"ll--I"ll ask the judge to let you off with the lightest sentence he can--"
"Oh, Lord, you WOULDN"T do that, would you?"
"Yes, I would. What do you mean by secreting stolen property in my apartments?"
"I didn"t steal it. I found it, I tell you."
"Bosh!"
"Hope I may die if I didn"t."
"Well, it may stay there till it rots, so far as I am concerned."
"No danger of that," said Smilk composedly. "A friend of mine is comin" around some night soon to get it. What else did she say?"
"Eh?"
"What else did my wife say?"
"Oh! Well, among other things, she wondered if it would be possible to get an injunction against the court to prevent him from depriving her of her only means of support. She says everybody is getting injunctions these days and--"
"Bosh!" said Smilk, but not with conviction. An anxious, inquiring gleam lurked in his eyes.
Mr. Yollop continued:
"I told her it was ridiculous,--and it is. Then she said she was going to see your lawyer and ask him to put her on the witness stand to testify that you are a good, loyal, hard-working husband and that your children ought to have a father"s hand over them, and a lot more like that."
"She tried that once before and the court wouldn"t let her testify,"
said Smilk. "But anyhow, I"ll tell my lawyer to kick her out of the office if she comes around there offering to commit perjury."
"I rather fancy she has considered that angle, Ca.s.sius. She says if she isn"t allowed to testify, she"s going to attempt suicide right there in the court-room."
"By gum, she"s a mean woman," groaned Smilk.
"I"m obliged to agree with you," said Mr. Yollop, compressing his lips as a far-away look came into his eyes. "If I live to be a thousand years old, I"ll never forget the way she talked to me when I finally succeeded in telling her I was busy and she would have to excuse me. It was something appalling."
"Course. I suppose I got myself to blame," lamented Ca.s.sius ruefully. "I don"t know how many times I come near to doin" it and didn"t because I was so darned chicken-hearted."
"I have decided, Cash, that you ought to go up for life,--or for thirty years, at least. So when I go on the stand I intend to do everything in my power to secure the maximum for you. At first, I was reluctant to aid you in your efforts to lead a life of ease and enjoyment but recent events have convinced me that you are ent.i.tled to all that the law can give you."
"It won"t do much good if she"s to set there in the Courtroom, snivelling and lookin" heart-broke, with a pack of half-starved kids hangin" on to her. Like as not, she won"t give "em anything to eat for two or three days so"s they"ll look the part. I remember two of them kids fairly well. The Lord knows I used to take all kinds of risks to provide clothes and all sorts of luxuries for them,--and for her too. I used to give "em bicycles and skates and gold watches,--yes, sir, we had Christmas regularly once a month. And she never was without fur neck-pieces and m.u.f.fs and silk stockings and everything. The trouble with that woman is, she can"t stand poverty.
She just keeps on hopin" for the day to come when she can wear all sorts of finery and jewels again, even if I do have to go to the penitentiary for it. All this comes of bein" too good a provider, Bill. You spoil "em."
Mr. Yollop was thinking, so Ca.s.sius, after waiting a moment, scratched his head and ventured:
"That guy"s beginnin" to fidget, Bill. I guess your time"s about up.
What are you thinkin" about?"
"I was thinking about your other wives. How many did you say you have?"
"Three, all told. The other two don"t bother me much."
"Haven"t you ever been divorced from any of them?"
"Not especially. Why?"
"Where do the other two live, and what are their names?"