Part 35 (1/2)
CHAPTER XX
JOURNEY'S END
Harrigan dined alone. He was in disgrace; he was sore, mentally as well as physically; and he ate his dinner without relish, in simple obedience to those well regulated periods of hunger that a.s.sailed him three times a day, in spring, summer, autumn and winter. By the time the waiter had cleared away the dishes, Harrigan had a perfecto between his teeth (along with a certain matrimonial bit), and smoked as if he had wagered to finish the cigar in half the usual stretch. He then began to walk the floor, much after the fas.h.i.+on of a man who has the toothache, or the earache, which would be more to the point. To his direct mind no diplomacy was needed; all that was necessary was a few blunt questions. Nora could answer them as she chose. Nora, his baby, his little girl that used to run around barefooted and laugh when he applied the needed birch! How children grew up! And they never grew too old for the birch; they certainly never did.
They heard him from the drawing-room; tramp, tramp, tramp.
”Let him be, Nora,” said Mrs. Harrigan, wisely. ”He is in a rage about something. And your father is not the easiest man to approach when he's mad. If he fought Mr. Courtlandt, he believed he had some good reason for doing so.”
”Mother, there are times when I believe you are afraid of father.”
”I am always afraid of him. It is only because I make believe I'm not that I can get him to do anything. It was dreadful. And Mr. Courtlandt was such a gentleman. I could cry. But let your father be until to-morrow.”
”And have him wandering about with that black eye? Something must be done for it. I'm not afraid of him.”
”Sometimes I wish you were.”
So Nora entered the lion's den fearlessly. ”Is there anything I can do for you, dad?”
”You can get the witch-hazel and bathe this lamp of mine,” grimly.
She ran into her own room and returned with the simpler devices for reducing a swollen eye. She did not notice, or pretended that she didn't, that he locked the door and put the key in his pocket. He sat down in a chair, under the light; and she went to work deftly.
”I've got some make-up, and to-morrow morning I'll paint it for you.”
”You don't ask any questions,” he said, with grimness.
”Would it relieve your eye any?” lightly.
He laughed. ”No; but it might relieve my mind.”
”Well, then, why did you do so foolish a thing? At your age! Don't you know that you can't go on whipping every man you take a dislike to?”
”I haven't taken any dislike to Courtlandt. But I saw him kiss you.”
”I can take care of myself.”
”Perhaps. I asked him to explain. He refused. One thing puzzled me, though I didn't know what it was at the time. Now, when a fellow steals a kiss from a beautiful woman like you, Nora, I don't see why he should feel mad about it. When he had all but knocked your daddy to by-by, he said that you could explain.... Don't press so hard,” warningly. ”Well, can you?”
”Since you saw what he did, I do not see where explanations on my part are necessary.”
”Nora, I've never caught you in a lie. I never want to. When you were little you were the truthfullest thing I ever saw. No matter what kind of a licking was in store for you, you weren't afraid; you told the truth....
There, that'll do. Put some cotton over it and bind it with a handkerchief. It'll be black all right, but the swelling will go down. I can tell 'em a tennis-ball hit me. It was more like a cannon-ball, though.
Say, Nora, you know I've always pooh-poohed these amateurs. People used to say that there were dozens of men in New York in my prime who could have laid me cold. I used to laugh. Well, I guess they were right. Courtlandt's got the stiffest kick I ever ran into. A pile-driver, and if he had landed on my jaw, it would have been _dormi bene_, as you say when you bid me good night in dago. That's all right now until to-morrow. I want to talk to you. Draw up a chair. There! As I said, I've never caught you in a lie, but I find that you've been living a lie for two years. You haven't been square to me, nor to your mother, nor to the chaps that came around and made love to you. You probably didn't look at it that way, but there's the fact. I'm not Paul Pry; but accidentally I came across this,” taking the doc.u.ment from his pocket and handing it to her. ”Read it. What's the answer?”
Nora's hands trembled.
”Takes you a long time to read it. Is it true?”