“H’m, a difficult nature to understand.”
“Yes, it is. But I’m going to see that he is understood, and,—Mr. Pinckney, you’re going to help me, aren’t you?”
“To the last ditch!” and Harry Pinckney then and there, silently, but none the less earnestly, devoted his time, talent and energies to upholding the opinions of Avice Trowbridge, whatever they might be, and to helping her convince the world of their truth.
CHAPTER XIII
FIBSY FIBS
As the district attorney had surmised, Stryker was in hiding, under the protection of his daughter. Mrs. Adler was a clever young woman, and having undertaken to keep her father safe from the police investigation, she did so remarkably well.
But being assured that there was no reason for apprehension if he had not committed the murder, Stryker decided to face the music. He had feared being railroaded to jail because of his handkerchief having been found in the wood, but a certainty of fair play gave him courage, and he emerged from the house of his daughter’s neighbor, with a trembling step, but an expression of face that showed plainly relief at the cessation of strain.
“Yes, I kept father over to Mrs. Gedney’s,” said Mrs. Adler, “’cause I wasn’t going to have him all pestered up with an everlastin’ troop o’ p’licemen, when he handn’t done nothin’. I have my sick husband to nurse and wait on, and I can’t have detectives traipsin’ in here all the time. Oh, don’t talk to me about the law. I ain’t afraid. My father is as innercent as a babe, but he flusters awful easy, and a policeman after him makes him that put about, he don’ know where he’s at. So, I says, I’ll jest put him out o’ harm’s way fer a while till I see how the cat jumps.”
“But as an intelligent woman, Mrs. Adler,” began Mr. Groot, “you must know——”
“I know what I know; and I’m a wife and a daughter long ’fore I’m an intellergent woman. Don’t you come none o’ that kind of talk over me. You want my father, there he is. Now talk to him, if you can do so peaceably, but don’t give him no third degree, nor don’t fuss him all up with a lot o’ law terms what he don’t understand. Talk nice to him an’ he’ll tell you a heap more’n if you ballyrag him all to pieces!”
Groot realized the force of this argument, “talked nice” to Stryker, he learned the old man’s story.