CHAPTER XII.
OUT IN THE COLD, BLEAK WORLD!
"No doubt you have decided ere this what course you intend to pursue,"said Mrs. Varrick sternly.
"I-- I will do whatever you wish," sobbed the girl; "but oh! let meplead with you to let me stay here until Mr. Varrick returns!"
Mrs. Varrick's face grew livid in spots with anger, but by a splendideffort she managed to control herself before the detective. She turnedto him.
"Will you kindly step into an inner room, and there await the conclusionof this conference?" she asked.
He bowed courteously and complied with her request. When Mrs. Varrickfound herself alone with the girl, she made little effort to conceal herhatred.
"Why do you wish to see my son?" she asked, harshly. "To try to get himto condone the atrocious wrong of which you have been guilty? Youraudacity amazes me!"
"I have said that I am innocent!" said the girl, and she rose slowly toher feet.
"Never, with my consent, will he ever speak to you again! Do you hearme? I would curse him if he did.
"And it would not stop at that," went on Mrs. Varrick. "I would cut himoff without a dollar, and turn him into the streets a beggar! That wouldsoon bring him to his senses. Ay, I would do all that and more, if hewere even to speak to you again. So you can see for yourself theposition you would place him in by holding the least conversation withhim."
"He shall not suffer because of me!" sobbed Jessie Bain. "I will go awayand never look upon his face again. I only wanted to tell him to believeme. I am going, Mrs. Varrick, out into the cold and bitter world fromwhich he took me. Try to think of me as kindly as you can!"
With this, she turned and walked slowly from the room. On the thresholdshe paused and turned back.
"Will you say to him--to your son, I mean--that I am very grateful forall that he has done for me," she asked, "and that if the time evercomes when I can repay it, I will do so? Tell him I would give my life,if I could only serve him!"
"One moment," said the lady, as she was about to close the door: "I donot wish to send you away empty-handed."
As she spoke she drew a purse from her pocket, saying:
"You will find this well filled. There is only one condition I make ingiving it to you, and that is, that you sign a written agreement thatyou will never seek or hold any communication with my son hereafter."
"I am very poor indeed, madame," Jessie said, "but I-- I could not takeone penny from--from the person who believes me guilty of theft. But Iwill sign the agreement, because--because you ask me to do so."
"Then step this way," said Mrs. Varrick, going to the table, where,pushing a folded paper aside, Jessie saw a closely written documentlying beneath it. On the further end of the table a gold pen was restingon a bronze ink-tray.
Mrs. Varrick dipped the pen in the ink, and handed it to the girl.
"Sign there," she said, indicating, with a very shaking finger, a lineat the bottom.
Perfectly innocent of the dastardly trap that had been set for her,Jessie took the pen from the hand of Hubert's mother, and fearlesslywrote her name--signing away all hopes of happiness for all time tocome, and putting a brand on her innocent brow more terrible than thebrand of Cain.
Without waiting for the ink to dry upon it, Mrs. Varrick eagerlysnatched the paper and thrust it into her bosom.
Jessie slowly left the room, and a few moments later, carrying the samelittle bundle that she had brought with her, she passed slowly up thewalk and through the arched gate-way, Mrs. Varrick watching after herfrom behind the lace-draped window.
She watched her out of sight, praying that she might never see her faceagain.
"I have separated my son from her," she muttered, sinking down upon acushioned chair. "Any means was justifiable. He would have marriedher--it was drifting toward that, and rapidly. I could see it. Heavenonly knows how I have plotted and planned, first to find some businessby which my son could be called from the city, and during his absenceget rid of that girl--so effectually get rid of her that she wouldnever cross his path again. And I have succeeded!"
As she spoke she drew from her bosom the paper which Jessie Bain hadsigned, and ran her eyes over it.
Heaven pity any girl who signs a document the contents of which she isignorant!
This document was a statement acknowledging that she, Jessie, had takenMrs. Varrick's diamond bracelet, and had hidden it in the bottom of hertrunk, intending to slip out the following day and dispose of it,thinking she would have plenty of time to do so ere its loss wasdiscovered; but that in this she had miscalculated, as Mrs. Varrick soonbecame aware of the theft; that search was made for it, and that adetective, who had been secured for the purpose of tracing it,discovered it in its hiding-place in her trunk; and that, knowing theconsequences, she in her terror had made a full confession, acknowledgedher guilt and threw herself completely upon Mrs. Varrick's mercy, whohad promised not to prosecute her providing she left the country, whichshe was only too willing to do.
And to this terrible document Jessie Bain signed her name clearly andplainly.
With hurried step Mrs. Varrick crossed the room and locked the preciousdocument in a secret drawer of her _escritoire_; then she rememberedthat the detective was awaiting her. She summoned him quickly.
"The matter has been adjusted, and we have rid the house of the girl'spresence," she said, coldly. "I thank you for your sagacity in tracingmy diamond bracelet," she said, thinking it best to throw in a dash ofcovert flattery, "and I shall be pleased to settle your bill wheneveryou wish to present it."
The detective bowed himself out of her presence, and left the house,musing on the mysterious robbery, and saying to himself: "I would be farmore apt to suspect the lady of the house than that young girl."
He sighed and went on his way; but all day long, while immersed in thebusiness which usually was of such an exciting nature that he had notime for any other thought, the lovely face of Jessie Bain rose upbefore him.
He threw down his pen at last in despair.
"I must be bewitched," he muttered. "If I were a younger man I wouldcertainly say that I had fallen in love. I must find out where that girlhas gone, and have a little talk with her. I can not bring myself tobelieve that she stole that bracelet."
He put on his hat and reached for his cane.
"I can not say how long it will be before I shall return," he said tohis fellow detective in charge of the office.
In the meantime, in her lonely mansion, Mrs. Varrick was writing a longletter to her son. In it she expressed the hope that he was having apleasant time, and that he must not hurry home, but stay and attend tobusiness thoroughly, even though it took him a little longer. But notone word did she mention of Jessie Bain. So preoccupied was she with herown thoughts that she did not know Hubert had entered the room until sheheard his voice.
"I will save you the trouble of posting your letter, mother. I see it isaddressed to me. You can read me the contents in person."