Part 21 (2/2)
Elsa's expression was now enigmatical.
”There's not much veneer to him. He fooled me unintentionally. He was quite evidently born a gentleman, of a race of gentlemen. His is not an isolated case. One misstep, and the road to the devil.”
The consul-general's wife sent a startled glance at Elsa, who spun her sunshade to lighten the tension of her nerves.
”He confessed frankly to me this morning that he is a fugitive from justice. He wishes to return to America. He recounted the circ.u.mstances of your meeting. To me the story appeared truthful enough. He said that you sought the introduction because of his amazing likeness to the man you are going home to marry.”
”That is true,” replied Elsa. ”Uncle Jim, I have traveled pretty much over this world, and I never met a gentleman if Warrington is not one.”
There was unconscious belligerency in her tone.
”Ah, there's the difficulty which women will never be made to understand. Every man can, at one time or another, put himself upon his good behavior. Underneath he may be a fine rascal.”
”Not this one,” smiling. ”He warned me against himself a dozen times, but that served to make me stubborn. The fault of my conduct,” acidly, ”was not in making this pariah's acquaintance. It lies in the fact that I had nothing to do with the other pa.s.sengers, from choice. That is where I was indiscreet. But why should I put myself out to gain the good wishes of people for whom I have no liking; people I shall probably never see again when I leave this port?”
”You forget that some of them will be your fellow pa.s.sengers all the way to San Francisco. My child, you know as well as I do that there are some laws which the Archangel Michael would have to obey, did he wish to inhabit this earth for a while.”
”Poor Michael! And if you do not obey these laws, people talk.”
”Exactly. There are two sets of man-made laws. One governs the conduct of men and the other the conduct of women.”
”And a man may break any one of these laws, twist it, rearrange it to suit his immediate needs. On the other hand, the woman is always manacled.”
”Precisely.”
”I consider it horribly unfair.”
”So it is. But if you wish to live in peace, you must submit.”
”Peace at that price I have no wish for. This man Mallow lives within the pale of law; the other man is outside of it. Yet, of the two, which would you be quickest to trust?”
The consul-general laughed. ”Now you are appealing not to my knowledge of the world but to my instinct.”
”Thanks.”
”Is there any reason why you should defend Mr. Warrington, as he calls himself?”
The consul-general's wife desperately tried to catch her husband's eye.
But either he did not see the glance or he purposely ignored it.
”In defending Mr. Warrington I am defending myself.”
”A good point.”
”My dear friend,” Elsa went on, letting warmth come into her voice once more, ”my sympathy went out to that man. He looked so lonely. Did you notice his eyes? Can a man look at you the way he does and be bad?”
”I have seen Mallow dozens of times. I know him to be a scoundrel of sorts; but I doubt if bald sunlight could make him blink. Liars have first to overcome the flickering and wavering of the eyes.”
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