'Yes.'
'Ah! Were you here when Mr. Winfield left again?'
For the life of him Mr. Penway had not the courage to say no. There was
something about this woman's stare which acted hypnotically upon his
mind, never at its best as early in the evening.
He nodded.
'There was a young woman with him?' pursued Mrs. Porter.
At this moment Mr. Penway's eyes, roving desperately about the room,
fell upon the bottle of Bourbon which Kirk's kindly hospitality had
provided. His emotions at the sight of it were those of the shipwrecked
mariner who see a sail. He sprang at it and poured himself out a stiff
dose. Before Mrs. Porter's disgusted gaze he drained the glass and then
turned to her, a new man.
The noble spirit restored his own. For the first time since the
interview had begun he felt capable of sustaining his end of the
conversation with ease and dignity.
'How's that?' he said.
'There was a young woman with him?' repeated
Mrs. Porter.
Mr. Penway imagined that he had placed her by this time. Here, he told
himself in his own crude language, was the squab's mother camping on
Kirk's trail with an axe. Mr. Penway's moral code was of the easiest
description. His sympathies were entirely with Kirk. Fortified by the
Bourbon, he set himself resolutely to the task of lying whole-heartedly
on behalf of his absent friend.
'No,' he said firmly.
'No!' exclaimed Mrs. Porter.
'No,' repeated Mr. Penway with iron resolution. 'No young woman. No
young woman whatsoever. I noticed it particularly, because I thought it
strange, don't you know, what I mean is, don't you know, strange there
shouldn't be!'
How tragic is a man's fruitless fight on behalf of a friend! For one
short instant Mrs. Porter allowed Mr. Penway to imagine that the
victory was his, then she administered the coup-de-grace.
'Don't lie, you worthless creature,' she said. 'They stopped at my
house on their way while the girl packed a suitcase.'
Mr. Penway threw up his brief. There are moments when the stoutest-
hearted, even under the influence of old Bourbon, realize that to fight
on is merely to fight in vain.
He condensed his emotions into four words.
'Of all the chumps!' he remarked, and, pouring himself out a further
instalment of the raw spirit, he sat down, a beaten man.
Mrs. Porter continued to harry him.
'Exactly,' she said. 'So you see that there is no need for any more
subterfuge and concealment. I do not intend to leave this room until
you have told me all you have to tell, so you had better be quick about
it. Kindly tell me the truth in as few words as possible, if you know
what is meant by telling the truth.'
A belated tenderness for his dignity came to Mr. Penway.
'You are insulting,' he remarked. 'You are, you are, most insulting.'
