"Wait a minute," he said quickly. "Mebbe we can fix it with 'im.
She'll put in a plea for you and so will Little Starbright,--that's
what 'is daughter is called on the bills--if she gets a chance. Stay
right 'ere, youngster. I've got to go in for my girl's act now. I wish
you could see my girl. She's the queen of the air, and don't you
forget it. Ain't she, boys?"
There was a combined--apparently customary--chorus of approval.
Outside, Braddock was glowering upon his wife, who faced him
resolutely. There never had been a time when she was afraid of this
man; even though he had mistreated her shamefully, he had never found
the courage to exercise his physical supremacy. As so often is the
case--almost invariably, it may be affirmed--with men of his type and
origin, Braddock recognized and respected the qualities that put her
so far above him. Not that he admitted them, even to himself: that
would have been fatal to his own sense of justice. He merely felt
them; he could not evade the conditions for the reason that he was
powerless to analyze the force which produced them. He only knew that
somehow he merited the scorn in which she held him.
Pages:
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62