Argosy, Vol. 122, No. 1 — page 138: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

128 face had gone very white, and her blue eyes were almost black with emotion. She sat rigid, pressing a crumpled handkerchief to her white lips and staring before her. There was more than surprise in her atti- _tude—it suggested a terrible apprehension —and fear. Jean rose. She had a vague notion of finding Devree and demanding an explana- tion of this staggering turn of events. About Barr a knot of men clustered. His red face, wreathed in smiles, shone from the center of the group. _ Jean heard the prosecutor’s angry com- ment: “ Barr, if I thought for a second this thing was planted—f this is a trick—”’ and Barr’s answering chuckle: “ Trick? If you can prove it’s a trick you know what to do about it. Why don’t you do it?” Then an officious, bailiff, intent on clear- ing the court, had her by the arm, and she was swallowed up in the crowd that Shuf- fled slowly out of the place, surprised, be- wildered, dumb. They went tamely, herded by the bailiffs, not sure what it was all about; sure only of one thing—that in some way again La Salle Had triumphed; sure that even the law had failed to hold Frank La Salle! Jean went as stupidly as the others about her. So acute was her disappointment it left her little opportunity to question what happened in court. She knew only that the punishment of La Salle—a thing she had set her heart upon, believing its coming as inevitable as sun after storm—was deferred. The law had failed in its duty. She did not know enough of the law to guess whether it could retrieve its mistake. She did not think at all about the future. The present was so black it excluded every- thing else. Jean could only see that evil had tri- umphed and her faith was shattered. CHAPTER XXV. “PAID IN FULL.” W HEN Jean left Diana did not notice her absence. tion of the trial found her almost as stunned as Jean, but her thoughts were of The sudden termina- THE ARGOSY. a different color. As earnestly as Jean, she had hoped for La Salle’s overthrow, even though it cost the Thawns their pros- pect of financial independence. She had hoped for this, but always she doubted that it would happen. She knew that Barr was shrewd, and she had heard too much about his methods to believe he would let La Salle come to punishment with- out a long-drawn fight. Then she had given her promise to Dev- ree, and giving it, she knew suddenly that she loved him, and nothing else mattered. His success in the trial meant their success in love. She followed the proceedings with a prayer on her lips—a prayer that Devree, by some miracle, might win. The miracle had failed, and the failure was none the less bitter because common sense warned her to expect it. She became ‘aware ‘that somebody was speaking her name, and looking up, discovered Devree. When she saw his miserable face she could only remember that she loved him. Devree drooped. His eyes avoided her glance. He looked, every inch of him, beaten. “You heard?” he said huskily. “ You heard what happened to us?” ‘But I don’t understand!” “Well, we are licked. ‘Is not that enough—”’ _“ Gordon, sit down, here beside me. How did it happen? It was all so sudden, ‘so confusing. I don’t understand—” “Does it matter very much, how it hap- pened?” he groaned. ‘“‘ Barr beat. us, that’s the big thing. That smashes my chances. Oh, it was a clever trick! Nobody is to blame, nobody could guard against it— nobody can ever prove it was crooked. And it worked! It put a spoke in our wheels. It’s tied up this case for so long * there’s little hope it will ever come to trial ‘A trick? honest?” “Hush!” Devree warned her hurriedly. “No, I can’t say that. I don’t know that he was dishonest. I don’t know that even Barr would do the thing deliberately. But- after the trial began. Barr made the sud- den discovery that one juryman was preju- You mean that Barr was dis- cComiclbooks.com