As the two men motored slowly through the streets in the direction of the hotel, a share of Danny’s optimism entered the heart of the older man, and a smile of childlike happiness stole over his saddened face.
CHAPTER XXVII
ON THE BALCONY
Early the next morning Mary Louise was aroused by a tapping at her door, and Josie burst into the room, followed by Irene, who came more slowly on her crutches.
“We just had to wake you up, Mary Louise,” cried Josie, “to tell you the exciting news. They sent out officers to arrest those Browns. They found his name was Heinrich Braun, and he’s a German up from Mexico. Who could imagine such a thing!”
Mary Louise leaned back on her pillows, and her eyes looked very large and lovely with their violet shadows.
“Josie,” she said, “I’ve got a confession to make to you.”
“I’ll bet it isn’t very serious,” laughed the girl.
“Irene, oh, Irene!” Mary Louise called out. “You stay and hear it, too!” The well-bred girl was almost outside the door before Mary Louise’s voice halted her.
Then, as the two girls sat on the side of her bed, Mary Louise told them the story of James O’Hara—the kindly, courageous uncle of Danny Dexter. She told them of the terrible mistake he had once made—a mistake atoned for time and again. She told how O’Hara happened to be on the Brown ranch and how he discovered its dangerous character. And lastly, she told of the amazing events of the previous evening, expatiating at length on the heroic part that O’Hara played in them.