all these things and more peter told; thinking that he was safe now, under the protection of authority. but after he had spent about two months in the hospital, he was summoned one day into the office, 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 chatter again. “wh-wh-what?” he cried.
“didn’t i tell you to hold your mouth?” and guffey looked as if he were going to twist peter’s wrist again.
“mr. guffey, i ain’t told a soul! i ain’t said one 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 the goober case, but you talked about yourself. didn’t you tell somebody 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 fake patent medicines?”
“y-y-yes, sir.”
“christ almighty!” cried guffey. “and what kind of a witness do you think you’ll make?”
“but,” cried peter in despair, “i didn’t tell anybody that would matter. i only—”
“what do you know what would matter?” roared the detective, adding a stream of furious oaths. “the goober people have got spies on us; they’ve got somebody right here in this jail. anyhow, they’ve found out about you and your record. you’ve gone and ruined us with your blabbing mouth!”
“my lord!” whispered peter, his voice dying away.
“look at yourself on a witness-stand! look at what they’ll do to you before a jury! traveling over the country, swindling people with patent medicines—and getting in jail for it! working for that hell-blasted scoundrel kalandra—” and guffey added some dreadful words, descriptive of the loathsome vices of which the chief magistrian had been accused. “and you mixed up in that kind of thing!”
“i never done anything like that!” cried peter wildly. “i didn’t even know for sure.”
“tell that to the jury!” sneered guffey. “why, they’ve even been to that shoemaker smithers, and they’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’t hold your mouth as i told you to!”
peter burst into tears. he fell down on his knees, pleading that he hadn’t meant any harm; he hadn’t had any idea that he was not supposed to talk about his past life; he hadn’t realized what a witness was, or what he was supposed to do. all he had been told was to keep quiet about the goober case, and he had kept quiet. so peter sobbed and pleaded—but in vain. guffey ordered him back to the hole, declaring his intention to prove that peter was the one who had thrown the bomb, and that peter, instead of jim goober, had been the head and front of the conspiracy. hadn’t peter signed a confession that he had helped to make the bomb?
