The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) 📕

The Lights Were Out In Most Of The Houses That They Passed,  For It Was

Growing Late. There Were Not Quite So Many Saloons. The Streets Loomed

Wide Ahead,  The Line Of Houses Dark On The Left,  And The Stretch Of

Vacant Lots,  With The River Beyond On The Right. Across The River A

Line Of Dark Buildings With Occasional Blink Of Lights Blended Into The

Dark Of The Sky,  And The Wind Merciless Over All.

On Ahead A Couple Of Blocks The Light Flung Out On The Pavement And

Marked Another Saloon. Bright Doors Swung Back And Forth. The

Intermittent Throb Of A Piano And Twang Of A Violin,  Making Merry With

The Misery Of The World; Voices Brokenly Above It All Came At Intervals,

Loudly As The Way Drew Nearer.

The Saloon Doors Swung Again And Four Or Five Dark Figures Jostled

Noisily Out And Came Haltingly Down The Street. They Walked Crazily,

Like Ships Without A Rudder,  Veering From One Side Of The Walk To The

Other,  Shouting And Singing Uncouth,  Ribald Songs,  Hoarse Laughter

Interspersed With Scattered Oaths.

"O! Jesus Christ!" Came Distinctly Through The Quiet Night. The Young

Man Felt A Distinct Pain For The Christ By His Side,  Like The Pressing

Of A Thorn Into The Brow. He Seemed To Know The Prick Himself. For These

Were Some Of Those For Whom He Died!

It Occurred To Courtland That He Was Seeing Everything On This Walk

Through The Eyes Of The Christ. He Remembered Scrooge And His Journey

With The Ghost Of Christmas Past In Dickens's _Christmas Carol_. It Was

Like That. He Was Seeing The Real Soul Of Everybody! He Was With The

Architect Of The Universe,  Noting Where The Work Had Gone Wrong From The

Mighty Plans. He Suddenly Knew That These Creatures Coming Giddily

Toward Him Were Planned To Mighty Things!

The Figures Paused Before One Of The Dark Houses,  Pointed And Laughed;

Went Nearer To The Steps And Stooped. He Could Not Hear What They Were

Saying; The Voices Were Hushed In Ugly Whispers,  Broken By Harsh

Laughter. Only Now And Then He Caught A Syllable.

"Wake Up!" Floated Out Into The Silence Once. And Again,  "No,  You Don't,

My Pretty Little Chicken!"

Then A Girl's Scream Pierced The Night And Something Darted Out From The

Darkness Of The Door-Step,  Eluding The Drunken Men,  But Slipped And

Fell!

Courtland Broke Into A Noiseless Run.

The Men Had Scrambled Tipsily After The Girl And Clutched Her. They

Lifted Her Unsteadily And Surrounded Her. She Screamed Again,  And Dashed

This Way And That Blindly,  But They Met Her Every Time And Held Her.

Courtland Knew,  As By A Flash,  That He Had Been Brought Here For This

Crisis. It Was As If He Had Heard The Words Spoken To Him,  "Now Go!" He,

Lowering His Head And Crouching,  Came Swiftly Forward,  Watching

Carefully Where He Steered,  And Coming Straight At Two Of The Men With

His Powerful Shoulders. It Was An Old Trick Of The Football Field And It

Bowled The Two Assailants On The Right Straight Out Into The Gutter. The

Other Three Made A Dash At Him,  But He Side-Stepped One And Tripped Him;

A Blow On The Point Of The Chin Sent Another Sprawling On The Sidewalk;

But The Last One,  Who Was Perhaps The Most Sober Of Them All,  Showed

Fight And Called To His Comrades To Come On And Get This Stranger Who

Was Trying To Steal Their Girl. The Language He Used Made Courtland's

Blood Boil. He Struck The Fellow Across His Foul Mouth,  And Then

Clenching With Him,  Went Down Upon The Sidewalk. His Antagonist Was A

Heavier Man Than He Was,  But The Steady Brain And The Trained Muscles

Had The Better Of It From The First,  And In A Moment More The Drunken

Man Was Choking And Limp.

Courtland Rose And Looked About. The Two Fellows In The Gutter Were

Struggling To Their Feet With Loud Threats,  And The Fellow On The

Sidewalk Was Staggering Toward Him. They Would Be Upon The Girl Again In

A Moment. He Looked Toward Her,  As She Stood Trembling A Few Feet Away

From Him,  Too Frightened To Try To Run,  Not Daring To Leave Her

Protector. A Street Light Fell Directly Upon Her White Face. It Was

Bonnie Brentwood!

With A Kick At The Man On The Ground Who Was Trying To Rise,  And A Lurch

At The Man On The Sidewalk Who Was Coming Toward Him That Sent Him

Spinning Again,  Courtland Dived Under The Clutching Hands Of The Two In

The Gutter Who Couldn't Quite Make It To Get Upon The Curb Again.

Snatching Up The Girl Like A Baby,  He Fled Up The Street And Around The

First Corner,  And All That Cursing,  Drunken,  Reeling Five Came Howling

After!

Courtland Had Run Three Blocks And Turned Two Corners Before He Dared

Stop And Set The Girl Upon Her Feet Again. He Looked Anxiously At Her

White Face And Great,  Frightened Eyes. Her Lips Were Trembling And She

Was Shivering. He Tore His Overcoat Off,  Wrapped It About Her,  And

Before She Could Protest Caught Her Up Again And Ran On Another Block Or

Two.

"Oh,  You Must Not!" She Cried. "I Can Walk Perfectly Well,  And I Don't

Need Your Coat. Please,  Please Put On Your Coat And Let Me Walk! You

Will Take A Terrible Cold!"

"I Can Run Better Without It," He Explained,  Briefly,  "And We Can Get

Out Of The Way Of Those Fellows Quicker This Way!"

So She Lay Still In His Arms Till He Put Her Down Again. He Looked Up

And Down Either Way,  Hoping To See The Familiar Red-And-Green Lights Of

A Drug-Store Open Late; But None Greeted Him; All The Buildings Seemed

To Be Residences.

Somewhere In The Distance He Heard The Whir Of A Late Trolley. He

Glanced At His Watch. It Was Half Past One. If Only A Taxicab Would Come

Along. But No Taxi Was In Sight. The Girl Was Begging Him To Put On His

Overcoat. She Had Drawn It From Her Own Shoulders And Was Holding It Out

To Him Insistently. But With The Rare Smile That Courtland Was Noted For

He Took The Coat And Wrapped It Firmly About Her Shoulders Again,  This

Time Putting Her Arms In The Sleeves And Buttoning It Up To The Chin.

"Now," Said He,  "You're Not To Take That Off Again Until We Get Where It

Is Warm. You Needn't Worry About Me. I'm Quite Used To Going Out In All

Weathers Without My Coat As Often As With It. Besides,  I've Been

Exercising. When Did You Have Something To Eat?"

"When I Left The Hospital This Evening. I Had Some Strong Beef-Tea," She

Answered,  Airily,  As If That Had Been Only A Few Minutes Before.

"How Did You Happen To Be Where I Found You?" He Asked,  Looking At Her

Keenly.

"Why,  I Must Have Missed My Way,  I Think," She Explained,  "And I Felt A

Little Weak From Having Been In Bed So Long. I Just Sat Down On A

Door-Step To Rest A Minute Before I Went On,  And I'm Afraid I Must Have

Fallen Asleep."

"You Were _Walking_?" His Tone Was Stern. "Why Were You Walking?"

A Desperate Look Came Into Her Face. "Well,  I Hadn't Any Car Fare,  If

You Must Know The Reason."

They Were Passing A Street Light As She Said It,  And He Looked Down At

Her Fine Little White Profile In Wonder And Awe. He Felt A Sudden

Choking In His Throat And A Mist In His Eyes. He Had It On The Tip Of

His Tongue To Say,  "You Poor Little Girl!" But Instead He Said,  In A

Tone Of Intense Admiration:

"Well,  You Certainly Are The Pluckiest Girl I Ever Saw! You Have Your

Nerve With You All Right! But You're Not Going To Walk Another Step

To-Night!"

And With That He Stooped,  Gathered Her Up Again,  And Strode Forward. He

Could Hear The Distant Whir Of Another Trolley,  And He Determined To

Take It,  No Matter Which Way It Was Going. It Would Take Them Somewhere

And He Could Telephone For An Ambulance. So He Sprinted Forward,

Regardless Of Her Protests,  And Arrived At The Next Corner Just In Time

To Catch The Car Going Cityward.

There Was Nobody Else In The Car And He Made Her Keep The Coat About

Her. He Couldn't Help Seeing How Worn And Thin Her Little Shabby Shoes

Were,  And How She Shivered Now Even In The Great Coat. He Saw She Was

Just Keeping Up Her Nerve,  And He Was Filled With Admiration.

"Why Did You Run Away From The Hospital?" He Asked,  Suddenly,  Looking

Straight Into Her Sad Eyes.

"I Couldn't Afford To Stay Any Longer."

"You Made A Big Mistake. It Wouldn't Have Cost You A Cent. That Room Was

Free. I Made Sure Of That Before I Secured It For You."

"But That Was A Private Room!"

"Just A Little More Private Than The Wards. That Room Was Paid For And

Put At The Disposal Of The Doctor To Use For Whoever He Thought Needed

Quiet. Now Are You Satisfied? And You Are Going Straight Back There Till

You Are Well Enough To Go Out Again! You Raised A Big Row In The

Hospital,  Running Away. They've Had The Whole Force Of Assistants Out

Hunting You For Hours,  And Your Nurse Is Awfully Upset About You. She

Seems To Be Crazy Over You,  Anyway. She Nearly Wept When She Telephoned

Me. And I've Been Out For Hours Hunting You,  Stirred Up The Old Lady On

Your Floor At Your Home,  And A Lot Of Hospitals And Other Places,  And

Then Just Came On You In The Nick Of Time. I Hope You've Learned Your

Lesson,  To Be A Good Little Girl After This And Not Run Away."

He Smiled Indulgently,  But The Girl's Eyes Were Full Of Tears.

"I Didn't Mean To Make All That Trouble For People. Why Should You All

Care About A Stranger? But,  Oh! I'm So Thankful You Came! Those Men