Tracy Park Part 30

'Certainly. Why do you ask?'

Jerry did not say why she asked, but put the same question to him she had put to Harold:

'If they find the one who took the diamonds will they send him to state prison?'

'Undoubtedly. They ought to.'

'And cut off his hair?'

She was threading Arthur's luxuriant locks caressingly, and almost pityingly, with her fingers as she asked the last question, to which he replied, shortly:

'Yes.'

'And make him eat bread and water and mush?'

'Yes; I believe so.'

'And sleep on a board?'

'Yes, or something as bad.'

'And make him work awful hard until his hands are blistered?'

Now she had in hers Arthur's hands, soft and white as a woman's, and seemed to be calculating how much hard work it would take to blister hands like these.

'Yes, work till his hands drop off,' Arthur said.

With a shudder, she continued:

'I could not bear it: could you?'

'Bear it? No; I should die in a week. Why, what does ail you? You are shaking like a leaf. What are you afraid of?'

'I don't know; only state prison seems so terrible, and they are looking everywhere. What if they should come in here?'

'Come in here? Impossible, unless they break the door down,' Arthur replied; and then Jerry said to him:

'If they do, suppose you lie down and let me cover you with the afghan and cus.h.i.+ons?'

'But I don't want to lie down and be smothered with cus.h.i.+ons,' Arthur returned, puzzled, and wondering at the excitement of the child, who nestled close to his side and held fast to his hand, as if she were guarding him, or expected him to guard her, while the examination went on outside, and the frightened and angry servants submitted to having their boxes and trunks examined.

At last footsteps were heard on the stairs and the sound of strange voices, mingled with that of Frank, who was protesting against his brother's rooms being entered.

'You will lose every servant you have if we do not serve all alike,' was the answer.

Then Frank knocked at his brother's door and asked admittance.

'We must do it to pacify the servants,' he said, as Arthur refused, bidding him go about him business.

After a little further expostulation Arthur arose, and, unlocking the door, bade them enter and look as long as they pleased and where they pleased.

It was a mere matter of form, for not a drawer or box was disturbed; but Jerry's breath came in gasps, and her eyes were like saucers, as she watched the men moving from place to place, and then looked timidly at Arthur to see how he was taking it. He took it very coolly, and when it was over and the men were about to leave, he bade them come again as often as they liked; they would always find him there ready to receive them, but the diamonds--_nix_.

This last he said in a low tone as he turned to Jerry, who, the moment they were alone and he had seated himself beside her, put her head on his arm and burst into a hysterical fit of crying.

'Why, Cherry, what is it? Why are you crying so?' he asked, in much concern.

'Oh, I don't know,' the sobbed; 'only I was so scared all the time they were in the room. What if they had found them! What if they should think that--that--_I_ took them, and should send me to prison, and cut off my hair: and make me eat bread and water and mush, which I hate!'

Arthur looked at her a moment, and then with a view to comfort her, said, laughingly:

'They would not send you to prison, for I would go in your stead.'

'Would you? Could you? I mean could somebody go for another somebody, if they wanted to ever go much?' Jerry asked, eagerly, as she lifted her tear-stained face to Arthur's.

Without clearly understanding her meaning, and with only a wish to quiet her, Arthur answered, at random:

'Certainly. Have you never heard of people who gave life for another's?

So, why not be a subst.i.tute, and go to prison, if necessary?'

'Yes,' Jerry answered, with a long-drawn breath, and the cloud lifted a little from her face.

After a moment, however, she asked, abruptly:

'Suppose the one who took the diamonds will not give them up, and somebody else knows where they are, ought that somebody else tell?'

'Certainly, or be an accessory to the crime,' was Arthur's reply.

Jerry did not at all know what an accessory was, but it had an awful sound to her, and she asked:

'What do they do to an accessory? Punish her--him, I mean--just the same?'

'Yes, of course,' Arthur said, scarcely heeding what she was asking him, and never dreaming of the wild fancy which had taken possession of her.

That one could go to prison in another's stead, and that an accessory would be punished equally with the criminal, were the two ideas distinct in her mind when she at last arose to go, saying to Arthur, as she stood in the door:

'You are sure you are not afraid to have them come here again, if they take it into their heads to do so?'

'Not in the least; they can search my rooms every day and welcome, if they like,' was Arthur's reply.

'Well, that beats me!' Jerry said aloud to herself, with a nod for every word, as she went down the stairs and started for home, taking the Tramp House on her way. 'I guess I'll go in there and think about it,' she said, and entering the deserted building, she sat down upon the bench and began to wonder if she _could do it_, if worst came to worst, as it might.

'Yes, I could for him, and I'll never tell; I'll be that thing he said, and a subst.i.tute, too, if I can,' she thought, 'though I guess it would kill me. Oh, I hope I shan't have to do it! I mean to say a prayer about it, anyway.'

And kneeling down in the damp, dark room, Jerry prayed, first, that it might never be found out, and second, that if it were she might not be called to account as an accessory, but might have the courage to be the subst.i.tute, and stand by him forever and ever, amen!'

'I may as well begin to practice, and see if I can bear it,' she thought, as she walked slowly home, where she astonished Mrs. Crawford by asking her to make some mush for dinner.