around that room ontiptoe in my slippers while she slept, or talking to her in a brightand chatty way, about everything that I thought would interest her,or bringing her flowers, or feeding her the liquid food which aloneshe could swallow.
"The doctor came every day. I questioned him closely. He was anintelligent man, and had, I could see, taken quite a liking to hislittle patient. He told me that the knife had just missed, by ahair's breadth, the carotid artery, but unfortunately it had struckthe cervical plexus, that important nerve-plexus, situated in theside of the neck; and had cut the recurrent laryngeal nerve, whicharises from the cervical plexus and supplies the muscles of thelarynx; and it had thereby caused instant paralysis of those muscles,and aphonia, or loss of voice. I asked him if she would ever be ableto sing again. He said it was not certain. If the severed ends of thenerve reunited fully her voice might return with all its formerpower. He hoped for the best.
"One morning, I was called down stairs by Mrs. Jansen; it was threeor four days after the assault had been made on Christina. There Ifound the chief of police of that department. He said it had becomenecessary, in the course of the legal proceedings, that Brederhaganshould be identified by Christina as her assailant. The doctor hadreported that there was now no danger of her death; and the family ofthe little rascal desired to get him out on bail. I told him I wouldconfer with the physician, when he called, as to whether Christinacould stand the excitement of such an interview, and I would notifyhim. He thanked me and took his leave. That day I spoke upon thesubject to Dr. Hemnip, and he thought that Christina had so farrecovered her strength that she might see the prisoner the day afterthe next. At the same time he cautioned her not to become nervous orexcited, and not to attempt to speak. She was simply to write 'Yes'on her tablet, in answer to the question asked her by the police. Theinterview was to be as brief as possible. I communicated with thechief of police, as I had promised, giving him these details, andfixed an hour for him to call."
CHAPTER XXVI.
MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE WIDOW AND HER SON
"The next day, about ten in the morning, I went out to procure somemedicine for Christina. I was gone but a few minutes, and on myreturn, as I mounted the stairs, I was surprised to hear a strangevoice in the sick-room. I entered and was introduced by Mrs. Jansento 'Mrs. Brederhagan,' the rich widow, the mother of the littlewretch who had assaulted Christina. She was a large, florid woman,extravagantly dressed, with one of those shallow, unsympatheticvoices which betoken a small and flippant soul. Her lawyers had toldher that Nathan would probably be sent to prison for a term of years;and so she had come to see if she could not beg his victim to sparehim. She played her part well. She got down on her knees by thebedside in all her silks and furbelows, and seized Christina's handand wept; and told of her own desolate state as a widow--drawing,incidentally, a picture of the virtues of her deceased husband, whichhe himself--good man--would not have recognized in this world or anyother. And then she descanted on the kind heart of her poor boy, andhow he had been led off by bad company, etc., etc. Christina listenedwith an intent look to all this story; but she flushed when the widowproceeded to say how deeply her son loved her, Christina, and that itwas his love for her that had caused him to commit his desperate act;and she actually said that, although Christina was but a poor singer,with no blood worth speaking of, in comparison with her ownillustrious long line of nobodies, yet she brought Christina an offerfrom her son--sanctioned by her own approval--that he would--if shewould spare him from imprisonment and his family from disgrace--marryher outright and off-hand; and that she would, as a magnanimous andgenerous, upper-crust woman, welcome her, despite all herdisadvantages and drawbacks, to her bosom as a daughter! All this shetold with a great many tears and ejaculations, all the time clingingto Christina's hand.
"When she had finished and risen, and readjusted her disarrangedflounces, Christina took her tablet and wrote:
"I could not marry your son. As to the rest, I will think it over.Please do not come again.'
"The widow would have gotten down on her knees and gone at it again;but I took her aside and said to her:
'Do you not see that this poor girl is very weak, and your appealsdistress her? Go home and I will communicate with you.'
"And I took her by the arm, and firmly but respectfully led her outof the room, furbelows, gold chains and all. She did not feel at allsatisfied with the success of her mission; but I saw her into hercarriage and told the driver to take her home. I was indignant. Ifelt that the whole thing was an attempt to play upon the sympathiesof my poor little patient, and that the woman was a hollow, heartlessold fraud.
"The next day, at the appointed hour, the chief of police came,accompanied by the prisoner. The latter had had no liquor for severaldays and was collapsed enough. All his courage and vanity had oozedout of him. He was a dilapidated wreck. He knew that the penitentiaryyawned for him, and he felt his condition as deeply as such a shallownature could feel anything. I scowled at the wretch in a way whichalarmed him for his personal safety, and he trembled and hurriedbehind the policeman.
"Christina had been given a strengthening drink. The doctor was therewith his finger on her pulse; she was raised up on some pillows. Herfather and mother were present. When we entered she looked for aninstant at the miserable, dejected little creature, and I saw ashudder run through her frame, and then she closed her eyes.
"'Miss Jansen,' said the chief of police, 'be kind enough to saywhether or not this is the man who tried to kill you.'
"I handed her the tablet and pencil. She wrote a few words. I handedit to the chief.
"'What does this mean?' he said, in evident astonishment.
"I took the tablet out of his hand, and was thunderstruck to find onit these unexpected words:
"_'This is not the man.'_
"'Then,' said the chief of Police, 'there is nothing more to do thanto discharge the prisoner.'
"Her father and mother stepped forward; but she waved them back withher hand; and the chief led the culprit out, too much stunned to yetrealize that he was free.
"'What does this mean, Christina?' I asked, in a tone that expressedindignation, if not anger.
"She took her tablet and wrote:
"'What good would it do to send that poor, foolish boy to prison formany years? He was drunk or he would not have hurt me. It will do nogood to bring disgrace on a respectable family. This great lesson mayreform him and make him a good man.'
"At that moment I made up my mind to make Christina my wife, if shewould have me. Such a soul was worth a mountain of rubies. There areonly a few of them in each generation, and fortunate beyondexpression is the man who can call one of them his own!
"But I was not going to see my poor love, or her family, imposed onby that scheming old widow. I hurried out of the house; I called ahack, and drove to Mrs. Brederhagan's house. I found her and her sonin the first paroxysm of joy--locked in each other's arms.
"'Mrs. Brederhagan,' I said, 'your vicious little devil of a son herehas escaped punishment so far for his cruel and cowardly assault upona poor girl. He has escaped through her unexampled magnanimity andgenerosity. But do you know what he has done to her? He has silencedher exquisite voice forever. He has ruthlessly destroyed that which amillion like him could not create. That poor girl will never singagain. She was the sole support of her family. This imp here hastaken the bread out of their mouths--they will starve. You owe it toher to make a deed of gift whereby you will endow her with the amountshe was earning when your son's dagger pierced her poor throat andsilenced her voice; that is--fifty dollars a week.'
"The widow ruffled up her feathers, and said she did not see why sheshould give Christina fifty dollars a week. She had declared that herson was not the one who had assaulted her, and he was a free man, andthat was the end of their connection with the matter.
"'Ha! ha!' said I, 'and so, that is your position? Now you will sendat once for a notary and do as I tell you, or in
one hour your sonshall be arrested again. _Christina's mother knows him perfectlywell, and will identify him_; and Christina herself will not swear incourt to the generous falsehood she told to screen you and yours fromdisgrace. You are a worthy mother of such a son, when you cannotappreciate one of the noblest acts ever performed in this world.'
"The widow grew pale at these threats; and after she and her hopefulson--who was in a great fright--had whispered together, shereluctantly agreed to my terms. A notary was sent for, and the deeddrawn and executed, and a check given, at my demand, for the firstmonth's payment.
"'Now,' said I, turning to Master Nathan, 'permit me to say one wordto you, young man. If you ever again approach, or speak to, or molestin any way, Miss
Cæsar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century Page 41
