100%: the Story of a Patriot

Section 10

Section 10All these things and more Peter told; thinking that he was safenow, under the protection of authority. But after he had spentabout two months in the hospital, he was summoned one day into theoffice, and there stood Guffey, glowering at him in a black fury.“You damned fool!” were Guffey’s first words.

Peter’s knees went weak and his teeth began to chatteragain. “Wh-wh-what?” he cried.

“Didn’t I tell you to hold your mouth?” AndGuffey looked as if he were goingto twist Peter’s wristagain.

“Mr. Guffey, I ain’t told a soul! I ain’t saidone word about the Goober case, not one word!”

Peter rushed on, pouring out protests. But Guffey cut him short.“Shut up, you nut! Maybe you didn’t talk about theGoober case, but you talked about yourself. Didn’t you tellsomebody you’d worked with that fellow Kalandra?”

“Y-y-yes, sir.”

“And you knew the police were after him, and after you,too?”

“Y-y-yes, sir.”

“And you said you’d been arrested selling fakepatent medicines?”

“Y-y-yes, sir.”

“Christ almighty!” cried Guffey. “And whatkind of a witness do you think you’ll make?”

“But,” cried Peter in despair, “I didn’ttell anybody that would matter. I only—”

“What do you know what would matter?” roared thedetective, adding a stream of furious oaths. “The Gooberpeople have got spies on us; they’ve got somebody right herein this jail. Anyhow, they’ve found out about you and yourrecord. You’ve gone and ruined us with your blabbingmouth!”

“My Lord!” whispered Peter, his voice dyingaway.

“Look at yourself on a witness-stand! Look at whatthey’ll do to you before a jury! Traveling over the country,swindling people with patent medicines—and getting in jailfor it! Working for that hell-blasted scoundrelKalandra—” and Guffey added some dreadful words,descriptive of the loathsome vices of which the Chief Magistrianhad been accused. “And you mixed up in that kind ofthing!”

“I never done anything like that!” cried Peterwildly. “I didn’t even know for sure.”

“Tell that to the jury!” sneered Guffey. “Why,they’ve even been to that Shoemaker Smithers, andthey’ll put his wife on the stand to prove you a sneak thief,and tell how she kicked you out. And all because you couldn’thold your mouth as I told you to!”

Peter burst into tears. He fell down on his knees, pleading thathe hadn’t meant any harm; he hadn’t had any idea thathe was not supposed to talk about his past life; he hadn’trealized what a witness was, or what he was supposed to do. All hehad been told was to keep quiet about the Goober case, and he hadkept quiet. So Peter sobbed and pleaded—but in vain. Guffeyordered him back to the hole, declaring his intention to prove thatPeter wasthe one who had thrown the bomb, and that Peter, insteadof Jim Goober, had been thehead and front of the conspiracy.Hadn’t Peter signed a confession that he had helped to makethe bomb?