“i am very thankful to you, sir. i shall visit papa soon again. i hope that i may be allowed to see him any time when i can get away. you see, sister is making arrangements for her marriage, to take place in six weeks, and she and mother will be away from home at different times. i could then hurry and come to see papa, and please, officer, could i be admitted at any time?”
“miss gertie, i should like to grant you the privilege, but i fear i can not do so. i am sworn to follow prison rules.”
“oh, how cruel! to know that i could not be allowed the pleasure—the only pleasure i have—of seeing my father!”
“i am very sorry. i would help you to do anything possible without violating the prison rules.”
“dear child, go now. you must, as you know that we are not obeying orders, and i am very thankful for the pleasure the officer has[186] given us—to see each other. i want you to thank him and go.”
“papa, i did thank him, and will again. oh! if i only knew that i could return often to see you, i could go more contentedly. good-bye, dear papa. do not worry, papa; i shall always be your gertie, and a dutiful daughter.
“good-bye. i thank you, officer.”
“mr. pearson, you have a beautiful daughter,” said the superintendent as the girl passed out; “not only in looks, but she is good and loyal to her father. how proud i should be of a daughter like her!”
“i am proud of her. and i am ashamed to think that i have brought on her this disgrace. i feel that i shall never again be able to hold up my head, if i should get out of here.”
“do not talk like that. we can live down disgrace and you can show the world that you are not a bad man, after all, at heart, and i don’t think you are, pearson.”
“well, i’m glad i made the train all right,” said pat, “and i got the letter off. i feel better now—not so ornery. i will take me toime going back. what do i see? the dear little girl that called me name with the handle on it? and i do believe she is crying. now, i can’t[187] stand to pass her and see her shedding tears. what could i say to comfort her? well, if i don’t say anny more than ‘howdy,’ it will help some.
“how do you do?”
“oh, dear! i was not looking up, and i didn’t see you.”
“i know you didn’t see me, but i saw you, and i want to spake to you, for sympathy’s sake.”
“i thank you, mr. pat. i am so sad to think i can not see papa often. i can not get away always on the visiting days, and would have to come when i could find the opportunity.”
“well, i will see if you can not get in when you come.”
“oh, no! you are very kind, but the officer in charge said that he was sworn to do his duty, and the rules of the prison are, ‘no visitors except on visiting day.’ i shall have to come when i can get away on visiting days.”
“well, i hope to be able to break the rules.”
“you must not do so on my account, or make any attempt to do so, mr. pat.”
“what could i say next?” thought pat.
[188]
“i will be looking for you if you will say when you will call to see your father again.”
“i do not know that i could come when i would plan to do so—if i could come on the days set aside for visitors.”
“well, may i ask how i could help you?”
“i do not know now. i thank you. oh, yes! please be kind to papa, won’t you, please, mr. pat?”
“that i will, indade! i will, and i will see that he has plenty to eat and drink. now i must move on back to me job. good-bye.”
“he has promised to look after papa, and i shall be so grateful to him for his kindness—shown to my dear, heart-broken father. i will beg my mother again, when she has relented toward me, to let me visit my dear papa on the right days. what pleasure i shall have, looking forward to the times when i may see him, if mother will only consent!”
“pat, you back? i think it has taken you a long time to go to the train and back. why the delay?”
“well, your honor, i am back and ready to do annything you want me to.”
“you may see that mr. pearson is locked in cell 77.”
[189]
“mr. pearson, will you kindly come along with me? i am not doing this as a pleasure, but as my sworn duty.”
“pat, i understand your position. i know i had to do many things i did not like to do, but i understand the prison rules, and i’ll obey orders.”
“you will please step in here, mr. pearson. i am going to see that you have plenty to eat and drink. that i promised your daughter.”
“you promised my daughter? when did you have the opportunity to talk to her? i have been in her presence each time and all of the time when she was here, and she has visited me only twice.”
“faith, and did you not hear the officer ask me why the delay? well, as i was coming back from the train i met your daughter, and she was feeling bad, and i felt sorry for her and tried to comfort her the best i could, and i bade the time of day to her.”
“was that all of the conversation you had?”
“no, sir; i asked the poor, heart-broken girl if i could do annything for her, and the only thing i could do to help her i couldn’t do, but i offered to try, but she shook her head and[190] said, ‘no, indade.’ she don’t take after you for honesty.”
“pat, what was the help you offered her?”
“you understand the same as meself that the rules here don’t allow visiting only on visiting days, and the girl said she couldn’t always get away on visiting days.”
“what could you help her to do, pat?”
“i thought, perhaps, i could change the rule.”
“pat, you are a good fellow, and i do not know how to thank you for all of your kindness.”
“wait a minute. i don’t need anny thanking for bating you. i got me spite off you then.”
“i wonder what is keeping pat so long,” thought the superintendent. “did i tell him to return? i do not believe i did. well, i’ll throw the lock on and step around and see if i can see him near. i will just walk toward the new prisoner’s cell, and perhaps i may meet pat.
“almost there, and i do not see him? i’ll just step up and look inside cell 77.
“what do i hear? pat’s voice inside? i must find out what this means.”
“pat, you have had a hard time all your life, working, haven’t you?” said the prisoner.
[191]
“me b’y,” returned pat, “i never knew annything but work.”
“well, pat, don’t you think that a man would be foolish to work if he could live without it?”
“indade i do.”
“pat, would you like to live without working if you had a chance?”
“i would be a gentleman if i could. they was always something about a man that did not work i rather admired, and wondered how they felt, dressed up all the time.”
“pat, if you had the chance, you would try it, wouldn’t you?”
“well, faith, and i think i would.”
“pat, you understand what i’m here for?”
“faith, and i don’t want to be here for the same purpose you are, to be a gentleman, or to be a officer as you was.”
“no, that was by choice, pat, i was here. i have plenty of money, and now it will do me no good, if i am to stay in here, and if i were out of here, i would have enough to last us both the rest of our lives. now, pat, can you find a way to get me away from here, so this place will never see nor hear of either of us again?”
[192]
“well, me friend, what would be the job i would have after we got away from here?”
“did i not tell you that you would never have to work any more?”
“and i would be a gentleman, then?”
“yes, you would, pat. now, let me plan this. you are trusted, and the superintendent has confidence in you, and you can get me out of here, and walk out yourself, and then we can leave the country together.”
“and what would the poor man do without me help?”
“oh, go along! what does he care for your help? there are many others who would be glad to take your place, and you would be a gentleman then, pat. just think of it!”
“well, i can’t think of a gentleman in me, as i never was one.”
“of course, you always had to work, but you will never have to if you get me away from here. come, pat, wake up! you may never have the chance again to be a gentleman.”
“i will study this over and see if i want this chance. i feel the cold chills run up and down me back. does that belong to the appearance of a gentleman?”
[193]
“it does. you see, just talking about it, you are feeling the gentleman vibrations.”
“well, i think i have got the plot, and what i miss now i can get along without. i will hasten to the office,” the superintendent whispered.
pat continued: “i think i’ll be getting along back to the office, mr. pearson. the superintendent will be after asking me, ‘why the delay?’”
“come around often, pat, and talk to me.”
“that i will. well, i am a gentleman, or can be if i want to give up me job here.”
“pat, i have been looking for you for some time. you are not so lively as you used to be. are you feeling your age? you look worried. pray tell me what is the trouble,” said the officer as pat entered the office.
“i have no trouble. i am wondering how a man feels that don’t have to work or have anny trouble.”
“i don’t know, pat. i never had such a job. i always had to work hard for my honest living.”
“then the gentleman that is called the gentleman is not honest?”
“not all, pat. it would not include all[194] wealthy men, but it would close the bars around some of them.
“yes, and after the bars is closed, it is hard to get away, isn’t it? i was thinking what a ? of a time a man would have to get out of town if he could get from behind the bars.”
“some prisoners have got away and were never found, and again, some were caught in the act of getting away.”
“and the results, if caught?”
“pat, are you thinking of helping someone away? i never before heard you talk this way.”
“i am thinking of the past, if a fellow lost his job, and of the future, if he found another one better.”
“are you thinking of leaving here, pat?”
“not if annyone would know it, i’m not leaving here.”
“you know, pat, i have always esteemed you very highly, and i should be very much disappointed if i had to lose confidence in you.”
“you would be glad to place confidence in me, wouldn’t you?”
“i surely would place all the confidence in the world in you, and would trust you with all of the prisoners and feel as safe as if i were here myself.”
[195]
“i would take care of them one at a time—no other way.”
“i know you would, pat. i feel confident you would now, after this talk with you.”
“i’m glad you feel that way. i may never hurt your feelings more than once.”
“we can always forgive once, pat, and sometimes twice, but you know the old adage, ‘the third time is the charm.’”
“they would be only two and the third time would not be here.”
