Section 7
703 Words
Section 7Suddenly the man reached out and grasped one of Peter’shands. He twisted the wrist again, the sore wrist which still achedfrom the torture. “Will you tell?”
“I’d tell if I could!” screamed Peter.“My God, how can I?”
“Don’t lie to me,” hissed the man. “Iknow about it now, you can’t fool me. You know JimGoober.”
“I never heard of him!” wailedPeter.
“You lie!” declared the other, and he gavePeter’s wrist a twist.
“Yes, yes, I know him!” shrieked Peter.
“Oh, that’s more like it!” said the other.“Of course you know him. What sort of a looking man ishe?”
“I—I dunno. He’s a big man.”
“You lie! You know he’s a medium-sizedman!”
“He’s a medium-sized man.”
“A dark man?”
“Yes, a dark man.”
“And you know Mrs. Goober, the music teacher?”
“Yes, I know her.”
“And you’ve been to her house?”
“Yes, I’ve been to her house.”
“Where is their house?”
“Idunno—that is—”
“It’s on Fourth Street?”
“Yes, it’s on Fourth Street.”
“And he hired you to carry that suit-case with the bombsin it, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he hired me.”
“And he told you what was in it, didn’the?”
“He—he—that is—I dunno.”
“You don’t know whether he told you?”
“Y-y-yes, he told me.”
“You knew all about the plot, didn’t you?”
“Y-y-yes, I knew.”
“And you know Isaacs, the Jew?”
“Y-y-yes, I know him.”
“He was the fellow that drove the jitney, wasn’the?”
“Y-y-yes, he drove the jitney.”
“Where didhe drive it?”
“H-h-he drove it everywhere.”
“He drove it over here with the suit-case, didn’the?”
“Yes, he did.”
“And you know Biddle, and you know what he did,don’t you?”
“Yes, I know.”
“And you’re willing to tell all you know about it,are you?”
“Yes,I’ll tell it all. I’ll tell whateveryou—”
“You’ll tell whatever you know, will you?”
“Y-y-yes, sir.”
“And you’ll stand by it? You’ll not try toback out? You don’t want to go back into the hole?”
“No, sir.”
And suddenly Guffey pulled from his pocket apaper folded up. Itwas several typewritten sheets. “Peter Gudge,” he said,“I been looking up your record, and I’ve found out whatyou did in this case. You’ll see when you read how perfectlyI’ve got it. You won’t find a single mistake init.” Guffey meant this for wit, but poor Peter was too fargone with terror to have any idea that there was such a thing as asmile in the world.
“This is your story, d’you see?” continuedGuffey. “Now take it and read it.”
So Peter took the paper in his trembling hand,the one which hadnot been twisted lame. He tried to read it, but his hand shook sothat he had to put it on his knee, and then he discovered that hiseyes had not yet got used to the light. He could not see the print.“I c-c-can’t,” he wailed.
And the other man took the paper from him. “I’llread it to you,” he said. “Now you listen, and put yourmind on it, and make sure I’ve got it all right.”
And so Guffey started to read an elaborate legal document:“I, Peter Gudge, being duly sworn do depose anddeclare—” and so on. It was an elaborate and detailedstory about a man named Jim Goober, and his wife and three othermen, and how they had employed Peter to buy for them certainmaterials to make bombs, and how Peter had helped them to make thebombs in a certain room at a certain given address, and how theyhad put the bombs in a suit-case, with a time clock to set themoff, and how Isaacs, the jitney driver, had driven them to acertain corner on Main Street, and how they had left the suit-casewith the bombs on the street in front of the Preparedness Dayparade.
It was very simple and clear, and Peter, as he listened, wasalmost ready to cry with delight, realizing that this was all hehad to do to escape from his horrible predicament. He knew now whathe was supposed to know; and he knew it. Why had not Guffey toldhim long ago, so that he might have known it without having hisfingers bent out of place and his wrist twisted off?
“Now then,” said Guffey, “that’s yourconfession, is it?”
“Y-y-yes,” saidPeter.
“And you’ll stand by it to the end?”
“Y-y-yes, sir.”
“We can count on you now? No more nonsense?”
“Y-y-yes, sir.”
“You swear it’s all true?”
“I do.”
“And you won’t let anybody persuade you to go backon it—no matter what they say to you?”
“N-n-no, sir,” said Peter.
“All right,” said Guffey; and his voice showed therelief of a business man who has closed an important deal. Hebecame almost human as lie went on. “Now, Peter,” hesaid, “you’re our man, and we’re going to counton you. You understand, of course, that we have to hold you as awitness, but you’re not to be a prisoner, and we’regoing to treat you well. We’ll put you in the hospital partof the jail, and you’ll have good grub and nothing to do. Ina week or so, we’ll want you to appear before the grand jury.Meantime, you understand—not a word to a soul! People may tryto worm something out of you, but don’t you open your mouthabout this case except to me. I’m your boss, and I’lltell you what to do, and I’ll take care of you all the way.You got that all straight?”
“Y-y-yes, sir,” said Peter.
- Writer
