“Howling Petey!” he cried. “Great jumping grasshoppers! I’ve had a man arrested for that, and two others are just about ready to beat me up! Where is it, Mary—quick!”
“I applied it on the mortgage,” she answered calmly.
THE RECOIL OF THE GUN
By Marian Parker
Yes, I will tell you why I did it. I can talk to you, because you are a gentleman. You will understand. Those others were horrible men, policemen. They hustled me, they took me by the arm—me! Did you ever see a prison cell before? I never did. It’s a queer place to receive you in, but that isn’t my fault. They won’t let me out.
You wish to know why I killed my husband? It does sound rather dreadful, doesn’t it? Though, you know, a woman might get angry—might throw something at a man. But I wasn’t angry. It’s not really hard to kill people. Why, even now, here, alone with you—but they haven’t left anything handy. May you call in your friend from the corridor? Yes, of course.
About my husband. He was a very good man, very fond of me; a little tiresome, but I wouldn’t have killed him for that. People won’t understand that I did it from the highest motives.
This is the reason. It’s very reasonable. I did it for the children. Now you know.
He began to follow me about. He began to watch me. Even when I was alone he watched me. He was suspicious. That’s a very bad sign. I know what it meant. It was dreadful to know, but everything proved it. He was going insane. But no one else knew. If I waited people would find out. I had to think of the children, my little girls. No one would have married them. It’s hereditary, you know. So I shot him.
Your friend’s a lawyer? He will get me off? They won’t hang me? I knew they wouldn’t if I explained. What’s that you said? I heard! To plead insanity. For me? But he mustn’t do that! The girls—don’t you see? Why, you’re crazy! No one would marry them! And I did it for them! I did it for them!