"
"And is it true, as this officer has suggested, that you were in love
with her yourself?"
"Yes."
"You are aware of my brother's infatuation for her? That he has asked
her to marry him?"
"Yes."
Her voice now sounded more terrible to Larry. "I took you in to give
you a chance. And your repayment has been that, knowing all these
things, you have kept silent and let me and my brother be imposed upon
by a swindling operation. And who knows, since you admit that you love
the girl, that you have not been a partner in the conspiracy from the
first!"
"That's exactly the idea, Miss!" put in Gavegan.
Larry had foreseen many possible wrong turns which his plan might
take, but he was appalled by the utter unexpectedness of the actual
disaster. And yet he recognized that the evidence justified Miss
Sherwood's judgment of him. It all made him seem an ingrate and a
swindler.
For the moment Larry was so overwhelmed that he made no attempt to
speak. And since for once Gavegan was content merely to gloat over his
triumph, there was stiff silence in the room until Miss Sherwood said
in the cold voice of a judge after a jury has brought in a verdict of
guilty:
"Of course, if you think there is anything you may say for yourself,
Mr. Brainard, you now have the chance to say it.
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