CHAPTER VII.
A FAMILY GREETING.
When Gabriel opened his eyes to consciousness, he was lying on the floorof the jury room, his head supported by Olly, and a slight, graceful,womanly figure, that had been apparently bending over him, in the act ofslowly withdrawing from his awakening gaze. It was his sister Grace.
"Thar, you're better now," said Olly, taking her brother's hand, andquietly ignoring her sister, on whom Gabriel's eyes were still fixed."Try and raise yourself inter this chair. Thar--thar now--that's a goodold Gabe--thar! I reckon you're more comfortable!"
"It's Gracey!" whispered Gabriel, hoarsely, with his eyes still fixedupon the slight, elegantly dressed woman, who now, leaning against thedoorway, stood coldly regarding him. "It's Gracey--your sister, Olly!"
"Ef you mean the woman who hez been tryin' her best to swar away yourlife, and kem here allowin' to do it--she ain't no sister o' mine--not,"added Olly, with a withering glance at the simple elegance of hersister's attire, "not even ef she does trapse in yer in frills andtuckers--more shame for her!"
"If you mean," said Grace, coldly, "the girl whose birthright you tookaway by marrying the woman who stole it, if you mean the girl whorightfully bears the name that you denied, under oath, in the veryshadow of the gallows, she claims nothing of you but her name."
"Thet's so," said Gabriel, simply. He dropped his head between his greathands, and a sudden tremor shook his huge frame.
"Ye ain't goin' to be driv inter histeriks agin along o' thatcrockidill," said Olly, bending over her brother in alarm. "Don'tye--don't ye cry, Gabe!" whimpered Olly, as a few drops oozed betweenGabriel's fingers; "don't ye take on, darling, _afore her_!"
The two sisters glared at each other over the helpless man between them.Then another woman entered who looked sympathetically at Gabriel andthen glared at them both. It was Mrs Markle. At which, happily forGabriel, the family bickering ceased.
"It's all over, Gabriel! you're clar!" said Mrs. Markle, ignoring thesympathies as well as the presence of the two other ladies. "Here's Mr.Poinsett."
He entered quickly, but stopped and flushed slightly under the cold eyesof Grace Conroy. But only for a moment. Coming to Gabriel's side, hesaid, kindly, "Gabriel, I congratulate you. The acting District Attorneyhas entered a _nolle prosequi_, and you are discharged."
"Ye mean I kin go?" said Gabriel, suddenly lifting his face.
"Yes. You are as free as air."
"And ez to _her_?" asked Gabriel, quickly.
"Who do you mean?" replied Arthur, involuntarily glancing in thedirection of Grace, whose eyes dropped scornfully before him.
"My wife--July--is _she_ clar too?"
"As far as this trial is concerned, yes," returned Arthur, with a trifleless interest in his voice, which Gabriel was quick to discern.
"Then I'll go," said Gabriel, rising to his feet. He made a few steps tothe door and then hesitated, stopped, and turned toward Grace. As he didso his old apologetic, troubled, diffident manner returned.
"Ye'll exkoos me, miss," he said, looking with troubled eyes upon hisnewly-found sister, "ye'll exkoos me, ef I haven't the time now to dothe agreeable and show ye over yer property on Conroy's Hill. But it'sthar! It's all thar, ez Lawyer Maxwell kin testify. It's all thar andthe house is open, ez it always was to ye, ez the young woman who keepsthe house kin tell ye. I'd go thar with ye ef I hed time, but I'mstartin' out now, to-night, to see July. To see my wife, Miss Conroy, tosee July ez is expectin'! And I reckon thar'll be a baby--a pore little,helpless newborn baby--ony _so_ long!" added Gabriel, exhibiting hisforefinger as a degree of mensuration; "and ez a fammerly man, beingladies, I reckon you reckon I oughter be thar." (I grieve to state thatat this moment the ladies appealed to exchanged a glance of supremecontempt, and am proud to record that Lawyer Maxwell and Mr. Poinsettexhibited the only expression of sympathy with the speaker that wasnoticeable in the group.)
Arthur detected it and said, I fear none the less readily for thatknowledge--
"Don't let us keep you, Gabriel; we understand your feelings. Go atonce."
"Take me along, Gabe," said Olly, flashing her eyes at her sister, andthen turning to Gabriel with a quivering upper lip.
Gabriel turned, swooped his tremendous arm around Olly, lifted herbodily off her feet, and saying, "You're my own little girl," vanishedthrough the doorway.
This movement reduced the group to Mrs. Markle and Grace Conroy,confronted by Mr. Poinsett and Maxwell. Mrs. Markle relieved anembarrassing silence by stepping forward and taking the arm of LawyerMaxwell and leading him away. Arthur and Grace were left alone.
For the first time in his life Arthur lost his readiness andself-command. He glanced awkwardly at the woman before him, and feltthat neither conventional courtesy nor vague sentimental recollectionwould be effective here.
"I am waiting for my maid," said Grace, coldly; "if, as you return tothe Court-room, you will send her here, you will oblige me."
Arthur bowed confusedly.
"Your maid"----
"Yes; you know her, I think, Mr. Poinsett," continued Grace, lifting herarched brows with cold surprise. "Manuela!"
Arthur turned pale and red. He was conscious of being not only awkwardbut ridiculous.
"Pardon me--perhaps I am troubling you--I will go myself," said Grace,contemptuously.
"One moment, Miss Conroy," said Arthur, instinctively stepping beforeher as she moved as if to pass him, "one moment, I beg." He paused, andthen said, with less deliberation and more impulsively than had been hishabit for the last six years, "You will, perhaps, be more forgiving toyour brother if you know that I, who have had the pleasure of meetingyou since--you were lost to us all--I, who have not had hispre-occupation of interest in another--even I, have been as blind, asfoolish, as seemingly heartless as he. You will remember this, MissConroy--I hope quite as much for its implied compliment to your completedisguise, and an evidence of the success of your own endeavours toobliterate your identity, as for its being an excuse for your brother'sconduct, if not for my own. _I_ did not know you."
Grace Conroy paused and raised her dark eyes to his.
"You spoke of my brother's pre-occupation with--with the woman for whomhe would have sacrificed anything--_me_--his very life! I can--I am awoman--I can understand _that_! You have forgotten, Don Arturo, you haveforgotten--pardon me--I am not finding fault--it is not for me to findfault--but you have forgotten--Donna Maria Sepulvida!"
She swept by him with a rustle of silk and lace, and was gone. His heartgave a sudden bound; he was about to follow her, when he was met at thedoor by the expanding bosom of Colonel Starbottle.
"Permit me, sir, as a gentleman, as a man of--er--er--er--honour! tocongratulate you, sir! When we--er--er--parted in San Francisco I didnot think that I would have the--er--er--pleasure--a rare pleasure toColonel Starbottle, sir, in his private as well as his--er--er--publiccapacity, of--er--er--a PUBLIC APOLOGY. Ged, sir! I have made it! Ged,sir! when I entered that _nolle pros._, I said to myself, 'Star., thisis an apology--an apology, sir! But you are responsible, sir, you areresponsible, Star.! personally responsible!'"
"I thank you," said Arthur, abstractedly, still straining his eyes afterthe retreating figure of Grace Conroy, and trying to combat a suddeninstinctive jealously of the man before him, "I thank you, Colonel, onbehalf of my client and myself."
"Ged, sir," said Colonel Starbottle, blocking up the way, with a generalexpansiveness of demeanour, "Ged, sir, this is not all. You willremember that our recent interview in San Francisco was regardinganother and a different issue. That, sir, I am proud to say,the developments of evidence in this trial have honourablyand--er--er--as a lawyer, I may say, have legally settled. Withthe--er--er--identification and legal--er--er--rehabilitation of GraceConroy, that claim of my client falls to the ground. You may state toyour client, Mr. Poinsett, that--er--er--upon my own personalresponsibility I abandon the claim."
Arthur Poinsett stopped and looked fixedly at the gallant Colon
el. Evenin his sentimental pre-occupation the professional habit triumphed.
"You withdraw Mrs. Dumphy's claim upon Mr. Dumphy?" he said, slowly.
Colonel Starbottle did not verbally reply, but that gallant warriorallowed the facial muscles on the left side of his face to relax so thatone eye was partially closed.
"Yes, sir,--there is a matter of a few thousand dollarsthat--er--er--you understand, I am--er--er--personally responsible for."
"That will never be claimed, Colonel Starbottle," said Arthur, smiling,"and I am only echoing, I am sure, the sentiments of the man mostconcerned, who is approaching us--Mr. Dumphy."