“No. I said that I didn't know who she was.”
He paused, and a queer brooding look crept into his face.
“I haven't seen her since I was a little duffer three years old. This room and these wild crags and trees come back to me now—just a glimpse of them here and there. I've always remembered them. I thought I'd dreamed it——”
“You remember—how wonderful!” she breathed reverently. She understood now, and the clouds lifted.
“The skunk I called my daddy,” Jim went on thoughtfully, “took me to New York. He said that my mother deserted me when I was a kid. I believed him at first. But when he beat me and kicked me into the streets, I knew he was a liar. When I got grown I began to think and wonder about her. I hired a lawyer that knew my daddy, and he found her here——”
With a cry of joy, she seized his arms:
“Tell her quick! Oh, you're big and fine and generous, Jim—and I knew it! They said that you were a brute. I knew they lied. Tell her quick!”
He lifted his hand in protest.
“Nope—I'm going to put up a little job on the old girl—show her the money tonight, get her wild at the sight of it—and give it to her Christmas morning. We've only a few hours to wait——”
“Oh, give it to her now—Jim! Give it to her now!”