“All right — then let’s start over.”
“Fine, we can all relax.”
I went over, patted her on the cheek. I kept on around, and patted Dan on the cheek. I patted Olsen on the cheek. I stood in front of the major, and when I saw that he would take it, patted him on the cheek. I went over to Burke and slapped him sharply on the cheek. Then I came back to my place and sat down. “So,” I said, “in a calm and reasonable way, let’s have a look at this thing. I’d call it a simple dilemma — with one horn and what we might call a handle. The handle is that the major, now that he knows the truth, can admit in a manly way that we all make mistakes and dismiss this case at once. The horn is that if he doesn’t dismiss the case, I have to submit this letter — we mustn’t forget that. The letter, once submitted, lets Olsen in, and also leaves him free to publish what’s been said here. And that brings in the Gooch Committee — we mustn’t forget them. And they bring in a Court of Inquiry — we mustn’t forget it. That’s as far as I’ll take it now, but we all have to realize, now that we’re being sensible, the backwash will be unpleasant. Mind, I don’t think the major was crooked — he was too self-righteous for that. To me, he’s an honest man, fair to middling dumb, who got himself sucked in, then couldn’t take himself out. Unfortunately, we have to go by the evidence, and my evidence—”
“Are you threatening me?” said the major.
“Threatening you?” I yelled. “Goddam it, am I talking English or am I talking Choctaw? You get Mr. Landry up here, you dismiss this case right now, or you stupid son of a bitch I’M SENDING YOU TO PRISON!”
“Bill, stop it!” yelled Dan.
“Try stopping me!” I yelled back.
“Then all right,” whined the major. “I’ll have the case reviewed. You come back tomorrow, and—”
“I give you five minutes! Get Mr. Landry, or—”
“But I can’t—”
“GET HIM!” barked Dan.
The major knifed out into the hall, and then things began happening so fast they’re all mixed up in my memory. First she came running over, and in front of Dan, in front of Burke, in front of Olsen, and in front of the orderly, began kissing my hand. Then Mr. Landry was there, a leather valise in his hand, and she flew to his arms, kissing him and whispering to him in French. Then the major came back with papers for me to sign, and I told her take her father down and wait for me in the cab. They did, but not before Burke got in it, snarling at them in French, and she snarled back, but Mr. Landry answered quite mildly. Then Olsen left, very solemn, bowing to me and saying: “Your faithful cat’s-paw salutes you.” Then it was Burke, me, the major, and Dan, but when Burke tried to go Dan stepped over to block him, and told the major: “You’re holding this man, I think. You’d better — if you know what’s good for you.” Then the major was taking Burke down to the detention room, the orderly going too.
Then it was Dan and me. I held out my hand to thank him for everything, but he didn’t seem to see it. “Bill,” he said, “I won’t forget this day. I bring you in, I extend you courtesies out of personal regard — and then you play me tricks.”
“... I had a client to think of.”
“Oh, he counts more than a friend?”
“Dan, you make me feel bad.”
“Oh, please don’t — I make allowance.”
I supposed he was lining it up to take a crack at Mignon, and on purpose held my tongue so as not to give him the chance. He waited, and then when I said nothing went on: “You’re now in Red River cotton, which messes up everything that it touches — and everyone.”
“Oh no,” I said, “I’m not.”
“You think you’re not but you are.”
Chapter 10
Mr. Landry got out of the cab in my honor and bowed me in, taking a seat on the other side of her, so she was in the middle. Their flat was on Royal Street, which is St. Charles extended, on the other side of Canal, so I told the driver take them there, “but stop first at the St. Charles Hotel, which is where I get out.” It seemed to me, considering the stakes of the game, that she could have spoken up: “And me — I get out there too.” But what she said was: “And before you get to the hotel, you stop at Lavadeau’s — I get out there.” And then to her father she added: “I have to go to work.” He patted her hand, then told me, speaking across her: “Mr. Cresap, I haven’t thanked nearly enough for what you did — and I still have no faintest idea how you did it. Mignon has tried to tell me, but law is not her forte.”
“Nor mine,” I said. “A reporter was the key.”
“Ah! I begin to understand.”
“But I’ll be only too glad to explain. Why don’t you and Mrs. Fournet have dinner with me tonight, and I’ll give you the fine points?”
“Daughter?”
“Why — I’d like to. Yes.”
“Mr. Cresap, we’ll both be honored.”
“Then I’ll expect you around seven.”
We rode along, the sun out for a change, and I remarked on how nice it was to think of something besides shoes, which caused her suddenly to ask him: “Why did you buy those shoes? Didn’t you know they had to make trouble?”
“Daughter, they were cheap,” he told her.
“And that was the only reason?”
“At twenty-five cents a pair, a storekeeper couldn’t resist. They were Army rejects, mismated on size. But by taking a gross assorted, I was able to match them up, with only seven pair left over. At thirty-six dollars, plus burlap bags to ship in, plus freight, who wouldn’t have helped out those boys?”
“Why couldn’t you have told the Army that?”
“They didn’t ask me.”
“The idea, their saying Taylor got them!”
“So happens he did, some of them.”
“... Taylor got some? How?”
“They walked into his camp. Not all of those boys were paroled, and some of them, with shoes on, decided they wanted to fight. So they joined Taylor. I was scared to death, I can tell you, that one of them might get captured by some Union picket up there. My shoes on his feet could have hung me.”
“My, I’m glad I didn’t know it!”
“All’s well that ends well,” I said.
“Yes,” he said, sounding rather strange. “Yes.”
That brought us to Lavadeau’s, and I hopped out to hand her down. She kissed him, then peeped down the back of his collar. “Your neck,” she told him, “looks like an old crow’s wing, and what causes that is dirt! You bathe when you get home! You hear me? You get in the tub and bathe!”
“Daughter, I’ve been confined.”
“I said, you take a brush and scrub!”
“I will, but don’t make personal remarks!”
I took her across the street, raised my hat, and went back for the rest of the block-and-a-half ride with him. He said: “Mr. Cresap, my daughter admires you extravagantly.”
“I equally admire her.”
“She’s a fine, upstanding girl.”
It was all pretty flat, not at all what I’d pictured in the way of a wild celebration of the triumph I’d hoped for and got. Still, he was her father, and I took things as they came. When the cab stopped, I shook hands, said I looked forward to seeing him that night, and stood waving as he rolled on toward Royal. Then I crossed the street and started into the hotel. I had my hand on the door when I heard running feet; looking, I saw her racing toward me and waving. I ran to her and caught her in my arms, as she stood on the banquette panting. She said: “I couldn’t have him — know I was coming here — spending the day with you — can we go somewhere and sit?”