He pointed a finger at him and spoke to Lila.
“What is he doing here?”
But Lila was so relieved by the unexpected succor that she was scarcely able to speak.
“I don’t know,” she stammered. “I mean — it doesn’t matter, since you have come. Only, send him away — please — at once!”
Then at sight of the look on Dougherty’s face she grasped his arm.
“No — not that! Don’t hurt him! I mean — just send him away.”
But the ex-prizefighter shook off her detaining hand.
“Hurt him? Oh, no. No, I won’t exactly hurt him. I’ll just shake hands with him. Only I’m so glad to see him that I may be a little rough.”
His tone was sharp and clear as the ring of steel, and the touch of sarcasm made it only the more deadly. He started toward Sherman, who retreated with his back against the window, crouched halfway to the floor with his teeth showing in an ugly snarl of fear. The sight struck Lila dumb with terror.
It was Dumain who averted the catastrophe. Dougherty had nearly reached the window when he felt the little Frenchman’s hand on his arm, and tried to shake it off.
But Dumain only tightened his grip.
“But, Tom! Mon Dieu! Look at her! She weel scream — she weel faint. You can’t keel heem in zee presence of zee lady. Eet ees not what you call eet polite. Come! Beeg eediot!”
“Do you mean I ought to let him go?” demanded Dougherty, amazed.
“For now — yes. We keel heem later. Come — look at her!”
Lila added her voice:
“Please, Mr. Dougherty, just send him away. I think he won’t bother any more.”
Dougherty sighed. Such conduct as this was entirely beyond his comprehension. Since the fellow was there, why not give him what was coming to him?
However, he felt that he must bend to the wishes of the lady. Perhaps, after all, it would be a breach of decorum. But he was unable to speak; he merely stepped to one side as a sign that he obeyed the will of the majority against his own.
Sherman attempted to make his exit with dignity. But his step was considerably hurried as he crossed the room, and it degenerated into a run at the head of the stairs; and he forgot his hat and gloves. Dumain saw them on the table and threw them down the stairs after him.
Then Lila sank into a chair and burst into tears.
This rattled Dumain and Dougherty more than the presence of a dozen Shermans would have done. The little Frenchman walked about as though in search of a means of escape, and finally began examining a vase on the mantel with minute care.
The ex-prizefighter was seized with a fit of coughing and went over to close the door, banging it with a force that shook the house. They avoided meeting each other’s eyes and kept their backs turned toward Lila.
Dougherty watched Dumain fingering the vase till he could stand it no longer, then burst forth:
“You fool, can’t you do anything?”
Whereupon Lila smiled through her tears, and Dumain, turning, saw her, and sighed with immense relief.
“It’s I that am a fool,” said Lila, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief, “but I just couldn’t help it. Oh, I am so glad you came! I thank you — thank you, with all my heart. And now he — Mr. Dougherty, why is he so afraid of you?”
“Him!” the ex-prizefighter snorted. “He’s afraid of everyone on earth, including himself. What was he doing here?”
Lila stammered, coloring.
“He... he wanted me to do something. It would do no good to tell you. I hope I shall never see him again. He frightens me. I am so glad you came!”
Then she forgot her confusion when she realized that she had not offered them chairs, and begged them to be seated. They obeyed her, Dumain with a flourish, Dougherty awkwardly.
There was a silence. Each of the men was waiting for the other to speak, and Lila gazed at each in turn.
Finally she said:
“Did you come from the hotel?”
“Yes,” echoed the two men.
Another silence. Dougherty moved about uneasily in his chair. Dumain twirled his mustache. Lila tried to think of something to say, but found her tongue tied by their embarrassment.
It was Dougherty who finally burst forth with a prodigious effort:
“I suppose you know why we came?”
Lila shook her head and invited an explanation.
“Well, we saw you wasn’t at the hotel, and we thought maybe you was at home, so we came up to see.”
“We thought perhaps eet was eelness.”
“You are very kind,” Lila murmured.
“And,” Dougherty continued, swallowing hard and forcing the words between his lips, “we wanted to talk to you about Knowlton.”
Lila turned her eyes full on the speaker, and Dumain threw him a nod of applause and encouragement.
“You see, we saw Sherman last night, and he told us all about it. I don’t want you to think we had anything to do with it. We wouldn’t peach on a guy, no matter who he was.”
“I didn’t think you would,” said Lila.
“But,” continued Dougherty, now fully started, “we ain’t sorry he got it. We’re glad he’s put away where he can’t do any more harm. We don’t like the way—”
“Did Mr. Sherman say — anything — about me?” Lila interrupted.
The ex-prizefighter looked away from her.
“Yes,” he said finally. “We know everything.”
“Then why did you come—”
“That’s what I’m going to tell you. And that’s why I started like I did. I want you to understand that we’re dead against Knowlton.
“Now, there’s no use talking about what’s past. We don’t care what you’ve done; we ain’t even going to say, ‘I told you so.’ What we want is to help you now.
“Knowlton’s done for, so there’s no use worrying about him, but from what Sherman said last night we was afraid you might get tangled up so you might have some trouble to get loose, and we want to let you know we’re right on the job to help you out of it. I guess that’s about all.”
Lila leaned forward in her chair.
“But you say — you are ‘dead against’ Mr. Knowlton?”
Dougherty said “Yes” with emphasis, and Dumain nodded vigorously.
“Then — I thank you,” said Lila.
Her tone caused the ex-prizefighter to look at her quickly.
“You mean—”
Lila rose to her feet. Tears were in her eyes, and her hands were clasped together so that little spots of red and white showed on them. Her voice, when she spoke, was low and quavering, but it held that depth of tone which is heard only when the words come from the heart.
“I mean — it is useless to talk to me longer, Mr. Dougherty. I am a very wretched girl. And now I shall offend you — I know it, but cannot help it. I can’t take your help, because I won’t desert Mr. Knowlton.”
Dougherty swore, and immediately was on his feet, stammering an apology, while Dumain glared at him fiercely.
Lila paid no attention to the interruption.
“You see — I can’t. Oh, don’t think me an ingrate — I know how kind you have been — but you don’t know as much about him as I do. And I can’t leave him without — I can’t think of him as you do” — she tried to smile — “because I am going to be his wife.”
“Mon Dieu!” gasped Dumain. Dougherty was speechless.
“Yes,” said Lila — and there was a note of pride in her voice — “we are to be married. So, of course, you know how I feel about it, and I couldn’t very well expect you to help me — us. I am sorry, because I do care for you, but you would never understand—”
She paused. The ex-prizefighter and the little Frenchman each heaved a prodigious sigh. They looked at each other, and each read in the other’s eyes his own thought. The Frenchman nodded significantly and Dougherty turned to Lila.