Within the Law: From the Play of Bayard Veiller

rris, she chanced to know. It was in a spot somewhere out of the crowd, so that for the moment the two were practically alone. The salesgirl showed signs

you want?" Sarah i

put her ques

hey do to M

sed impatience over the delay, for she was very

llid, prematurely mature face and the thin figure in the regulation black dress and white apron showed ordinarily only insignificant. "T

son for three years,"

at was indefinable, yet a tone vehement in its incredulous quest

essed by the girl's ear

tion that broke from the girl's lips. Instead, only

nature to be demonstrative, and such strong expression of emotion as this she deemed rather suspicious. She recalled, in addition, the

are you so anxious about it? This is the third time you have

h drove the accustomed pallor from her cheeks. S

Oh, yes!" Then, in an instant, the look of relief vanished, as once again the terrible reality hammered on her consciousness, and an overwhelming dejection showed in the dull eyes and in the drooping curves of the white lips. There was a monotone of desolation as she wen

possible cause for an emotion so poignant. Presently, however, her shrewd, though very p

atisfactory conclusion of her wonderment, the secretary hurried on her way, quite content. It never

tlined there. She remembered Mary Turner as a tall, slender girl, who showed an underlying vitality in every movement, a girl with a face of regular features, in which was a complexion of blended milk and roses, with a radiant joy of life shining through all her arduous and vulgar conditions. Instead of this

hands was clasped around the girl's wrist, a man who wore his derby hat somewhat far back on his

ssidy, from Headquarters, spoke in a rough, indifferent

bring this girl here on my way to

n a flash of illumination that the pitiful figure there in the doorway was that of Mary Turner, whom she had r

e or of mourning, to the girl there, but she found herself incapable of a single word for the moment, an

the girl letting herself be dragged onward, aware of the futility of any resistance to the inexorable power that now had her in its grip, of which the

d, hesitatingly. "I'm terr

atter of course, did not look up. She stood still, swayi

e I have been in the Tombs." There was infinite pathos in the tones as she

s accusation, for, till to-day, she had had no thought of the suffering girl there in

to-day! She has been asking about you again an

secretary's part was w

eless voice demanded. There wa

nd of the convict. But the mystery was to remain unsolved, since Gilder now entered the office. He walked with the quick, bustling activity that was ordinarily expressed in his

. I will ring when

embarrassment foreign to him, before finally he spoke to the girl. At last, the proprietor of the store expressed himself in a voice of genuine sympathy, for the spectacle of wo

d voice was softened by an honest reg

er of truth, with which sentiment had nothing whatever to do. But the effect on the employer was unfortunate. It aroused at once his antagonism against the girl. His instinct of sympathy with which he h

med, testily. "That's n

s the retort in the listless voice. Yet, now, in the

lity from one in your position," wa

in the vigor of her youth again. Her face lost in the same second its bleakness of pallor. The eyes o

musical, yet forbidding, too, with a note of passion, "would you be humbl

posed possible in such case. He found himself in this emergency totally at a loss, and moved in his chair doubtfully, wishing to say something, and

. They are innocent, of course! Yep-they all say it. It don't do 'em any good, but just the same the

own. The very simplicity of her statement might have had a power to convince one who listened without p

ou, I did

pret what this time must mean to the girl before him. Rather, he merely deemed it his duty to carry through this unfortunate affair with a scrupulous att

he demanded, sharply. "You were given a

always held her thus closely by the wrist, spoke again with an astonishing clearness,

ith a singular confidence of assertion. "Why, i

n broke in on the passion of th

her thing th

s, which had deepened almost to purple, still fixed piercingly on Gilder, who, for some

of my life? My lawyer! Why, he was just getting experience-getting it at my expense!" The girl paused as if exhausted by the vehemence of her emotion

made an effort to shake off the feeling that had so

serted, with an attempt to make hi

, her eyes shot their fires at the man seated behind the desk, and s

. The evidence didn't seem to be quite enough for some of them, after all. Well, the judge threatened to lock them up all night. The men wanted to get home. The easy thing to do was to find me guilty, and let it go at tha

the man whom she thus accused, and his eyes

ad affected his own, so that through a few hurrying seconds he felt him

where you spoke to the judge about my case. Yes, I heard you. It wasn't: Did I d

Where before her voice had been vibrant with the instinct of complaint against the mockery

is my judge, I am going to prison for

man who followed the conventional, with never a distraction due to imagination and sympathy. Just now, too, he was experiencing a keen irritation against himself because of the manner in which he had been sensible to the influence of her protestation, despite his will to the contrary. That irritation against himself only reacted ag

the judge to se

phatically, with all his usual energy of manner restored. As he spoke, he raised his eyes and met the g

won't stop it," Mary

ell me how to stop the thefts in the store. Well, my girl, do this, and, while I can make no definite promise, I'll see what can be done about getting you out of your present difficulty." He p

e girl's burden of suffering. Under it, her patient endurance broke, and she cried out in a voice of utter de

ng in my life. Must I go on telling you over and over again?" Her

grief, which seemed to his phlegmatic temperament altoge

d tossed the pencil aside in physical expression of his displeasure. "Why did you s

le drooping and shaken, where for a moment she had been erect an

e said, quietly. "Only, I-I sort of lost my gr

e," the officer commented, wit

sted querulously, a

g, and now a little increase

ou understand what's really wrong. And if I could do that, and so help out the other girls, what has happened to me would not, after all, be quite so awful-so useless, so

I do," came th

h a great earnestn

e them a f

onishment over this absurd, this

thief of his goods whom he had brought to justice was daring to trifle with him. He grew wrathful over the suspicion, but a secret curiosi

al, made more delicately resonant to th

"I mean just this: Give them

terousness of the advice fired Gilder with resentment so pervasive that through

herself undismay

od to eat, and a decent room to sleep in, and shoes that will keep their feet off the pavement wint

ad regained his powers of speec

want to make a maudlin plea for guilty, dishonest gir

r rave on, which was not at all his habit of conduct, and did indeed surprise him mightily. As for Gilder, he felt helpless in some puzzling fashion that was totally foreign to his ordinary self. He was still glowing with

, for six days in the week. That's a fact, isn't it? And the trouble is, an honest girl can't live on six dollars

the charm of its loveliness caught the man's gaze, and he watched her with a new respect, born of appreciation for her feminine delightfulness. The impression was far too brief. Gilder was not given to esthetic raptures

gs," he declared peremptorily, as t

u asked for-facts." A faint smile of reminiscence curved the girl's lips. "When they first locke

me the caustic excl

," Mary continued; "that, if I were to tell you how thin

he owner of the store gave for

y. "I change my business po

with her explanation. It was as if she were discharging a duty not to be gainsaid, not to be thw

one room, doing our own cooking over the two-burner gas-stove, and our o

nation necessary to sympathize actually with the straining evil of a life such as the girl had known.

hairs behind the c

she answered his defense. It continued musically low

on. "And do you understand why? It's simply because every girl knows that the manager of her department would think he could get along without her, if he were to see her sitting down --loafing, you know! So, she would be discharged. All

er baseless attacks on himself. His exasperation steadily waxed agains

rumbled, huffily. "That was the excuse for your coming here. And, in

nt on in its monotone,

raight girl steals, it's often because she had to have a doctor-or some luxury like that? And some of them do worse than steal. Yes, th

ths were uttered, stirred uneasily in his chair, and there came a touch

spoke, the anger provoked by this unexpected assault on him out of the mouth of a convict flamed high in virtuous repudiation. "Why," he went on vehemently

out any trace of rancor merely made this statement of indisputable truth obnoxious to the

s the other stores do,

, an answer informed with that repulsive insistence t

live on." The simple lucidity of

ion by harking back to the es

orced to steal. That's the plea you

as you call it, that I'm making for the other girls. There are hundreds of them who steal because they don't get enough to eat. I said I would tell you how to stop the stealing. Well, I have done it. Give the girl

p from his chair, and stood glowering at the girl who r

ak to me like thi

allenged. On the contrary, she repeated her question wi

ease, do somet

. Now, there was stark wonder in

me why I dare. I have a right to dare! I have been straight all my life. I have wanted decent food and warm clothes, and-a little happiness, all the time I have worked

le. The question at issue was no concern of his. His sole business was to take the girl away when the interview should be ended. It occurred to him now that this might, in fact, be the time to depart. It seemed, indeed, that the insistent reiteration of the girl had at last left he owner of the store quite powerless to answer. It was possible, then, that it were wiser the girl should be removed. With the idea in mind, he stared inquiringly at Gilder until he caught t

he wrist of the girl that set her moving toward the door. Her

erto. Into the music of her tones beat something sinister, evilly vindictive, as she faced about at the doorway

be a day or an hour that I won't remember that at the last it was your word sent me to prison. And you are going to pay me for that. You are goi

wrist showed taut the steel chain of the manacles. The girl shook the links of the handcuffs in a gesture stronger than words. In her final utterance to the agitated man at the desk, there was a cold threat, a prop

was little more than a whisper, but it was loud in the