Chapter 15
Shortly before midnight a strange sight greeted the eyes of the sergeant on duty at the Army base. It was unusual enough for anyone to be coming in then, but the sight of two women made him doubt his eyesight for a moment. They were, of course, Amy and Mrs. Cartison. The sergeant, who had been on duty both times before when Amy arrived, grinned when he recognized her. "What, no MPs?" he said.
Amy lowered her eyes, but Mrs. Cartison fixed the sergeant with a cold eye and said:
"No remarks, young man. We're here on important business. I'd like to see your commanding officer."
The sergeant wiped the smile off his face.
"I'll call him, ma'm," he said. "What's it about?"
"We'll tell it to your officer," she said.
Mrs. Cartison had taken charge completely. When Amy came down from her room, she had not told her landlady anything about her problem and Mrs.-Cartison made no effort to pry. But she had reached down deep inside herself and knew she had done harm to the man she loved.
It was Mrs. Cartison whose shrewdness had saved the day. She had guessed that the situation revolved around Clem, but she had no idea, of course, what it was all about. She waited for Amy to tell her, but Amy could not bring herself to do it, fearing condemnation and also that she would break down again. She was oppressed by a sense of hopelessness and the knowledge that she was trapped.
"I wouldn't keep it bottled up inside me," Mrs. Cartison said after a while.
Amy sat silent.
"Well, whatever it is, Amy, you'd better do something about it," she tried again. "After all, whatever you've done, I'm sure you can set it right again, if you try."
At this Amy looked up.
"You're right," she said. "I've been thinking about myself and it's about time I stopped. Will you come out to the Army base with me? I don't want to go alone."
Mrs. Cartison was startled by this suggestion. "Now? Tonight?"
"Yes," Amy said doggedly. "I can't give myself a chance to change my mind."
Mrs. Cartison agreed, and made Amy wait until she changed her dress. Amy paced through Mrs. Cartison's parlor, chewing her underlip. She felt immensely relieved by the step she was about to take. Whatever happened now, she was sure Clem would not suffer. She was not thinking about herself, though she knew that she would have to take Earl's possible vengeance into account. Mrs. Cartison called a taxi and they settled back for the drive out to the Army base. The only thing that bothered Mrs. Cartison was that Amy had not told her what it was. She felt it was something that she deserved to know.
Now, waiting for the officer to make his appearance, Amy was filled with a sense of trepidation. Could anything happen to her for what she had done? She had no hopes of anything for herself, but she did not want to give up her freedom. The officer came in and Amy halted her pacing. She recognized him as the same officer who had been on duty the night Clem had been brought in.
"I want to make a statement about Clem-I mean, Lieutenant Erskine," she said ;n a low voice.
The officer's eyebrows shot up and he looked from .Amy to Mrs. Cartison.
"Come with me, Miss Lovett," he said.
He made no mention of Mrs. Cartison and ignored her. The older woman set her lips in a tight line to indicate her displeasure and sat back to wait for the outcome of this midnight trip.
"I'm Captain Carson, Miss Lovett," the officer said when they were in his office. "What is it you want to say t
"Clem is innocent," she whispered.
"I'm not surprised, Miss Lovett," the captain said. "Just what did happen at that tavern?"
She told him the whole story in a low voice, at times inaudible. She left out only her love for Clem. Then, when she had finished, she sat back and waited for Captain Carson to speak.
"I'm glad you came," he said. "Clem's a fine officer and he was about to be shipped out when this happened. I'm glad you cleared him because it might have been very serious."
She got up at once.
"I have to leave," she said nervously.
"Don't you want to wait?" he asked in surprise.
Before he could stop her she was out of his office and running down the corridor and out into the night with Mrs. Cartison bustling after her. The cab was waiting for them and they hurried into it and set off back to town.
"I have to pack" Amy told Mrs. Cartison. Mrs. Cartison looked stunned. "Everything's all right?" she asked. Amy nodded.
"Then why do you have to leave?"
"I can't stay," she said tensely. "There's nothing for me here now."
Mrs. Cartison shrugged her shoulders and sat back in her seat. They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they got back to the house it was one o'clock in the morning.
"You can't go anywhere's now," Mrs. Cartison told her. "There's nothing leaving town at this hour."
"I'll pack," Amy said, "and I'll leave first thing in the morning."
In her room, however, she suddenly was without strength and she collapsed weakly on the bed. Where could she go? There was only one place-back to the city.
When she first arrived in Millersville she had thought she had a man she loved, but had been cruelly deceived. Then she had gone to the other side and forgotten about love. And when she had found it, she had not been able to recognize it. Her only hope now was to make a fresh start somewhere's else.
Finally she began to pack. So wrapped was she in her chore that she did not hear a car pull up outside with a squeal of brakes. She came out of it when she heard Mrs. Cartison's short scream followed by the sound of heavy steps racing up the stairs.
Her door was flung open and there was Earl, his clothes dishevelled and his face vicious.
"You spilled your guts," he snarled and stepped across the room and slapped her hard across the face without waiting for her to speak.
"Thinking of running out?" he said and strewed the clothes out onto the floor.
Amy backed away from him, fear-stricken. He came at her again and she tried to get away, but he caught her by the wrist and twisted it sharply.
"The cops tried to pick me up," he hissed, "but I got away and all I've got to do is take care of you and I'm on my way."
Desperately, Amy tried to twist away from him and she kicked out sharply and caught him on the leg. He cursed and his grip loosened momentarily. She got her wrist free and dodged past him and ran screaming through the door. Earl came after her quickly and she ran down the stairs with him thundering behind her. As she reached the bottom the outer door opened and Clem came bursting in. He shot right past her toward Earl who leaped at him from the steps and knocked him down.
They rolled around on the floor for a few minutes and then both got to their feet. Earl tried to get past Clem, who hit him savagely in the face and then pummeled at him ferociously. Earl tried to defend himself but he crumbled under the assault, his face dissolving into a bloody smear. Clem hammered without mercy until he collapsed unconscious on the floor. "Clem!"
She stood frozen, unable to do what she wanted, which was to throw herself into his arms. But he made the decision for her by stepping toward her. He caught her in his arms and pressed his mouth against hers, holding her tight, cradling her head in his arms.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
"What made you come?" She didn't know what to ask first.
"Carson told me you ran out and I was afraid you were going to run away." She nodded.
"I was," she said. "I was packing when he came."
"What did he want?"
"The police are after him. He wanted to get revenge on me for telling the truth."
He looked at her tenderly.
"Why did you want to run?"
She blushed and didn't answer.
"You knew I would come, didn't you?"
"I guess I was ashamed," she said shyly.
"So am I," he said. "I should never have forced you."
She looked at him in amazement. "You! You did nothing wrong." He grinned happily.
"Well, we won't quarrel about that. I'll be leaving soon and I want to get married before we do." She looked down.
"Are you sure you want to marry me, Clem? You know all about me now."
"I wouldn't want anyone else," he said warmly.
Just then a strange sight met their eyes. Mrs. Cartison marched out of. her parlor, carrying the oldest shotgun imaginable.
"If there's going to be a wedding," she said coldly, "we better do it right."