The Press., 1902-06-12
HE LAID THE COINS UPON THE TABLE.

HE LAID THE COINS UPON THE TABLE. the photograph and drew from his pocket the remnant of his revenue. There were eight coins-a quarter, a dime, four nickels and two cents. He laid them upon the table, abstractedly placing them in elliptical form, with the quarter for head and the dime for a tail piece.
 Looks like a comet, looks like a snaket" he soliloquized, breaking from his rafaections upon the latent possibih- ties Of 57 cents. He became suddenly conscious of a double analogy between the form of the row of coins and the package that still lay upon the foor A comet was a sort of star, the return ed manuscript from The Stellar Maga- zine, and the story of the manuscript was the story of woman and snake He reflected with some pride that it was the most grewsome thing he had ever done. He swept up the coins and stood with puckered brows gazing at the steadfast eyes of the photograph. A knock at his dcor broke his reverie.
 A stout young woman, of business like countenance, promptly accepted his monosyllabic invitation to enter.
 'Pd like some money, please" she said, with equal promptness, regarding with apparent disfavor the young man, who still had his eyes upon the photo graph.
 "So would l." replied the indigent Mr. Patterson. He wheeled and con- fronted the blond collector of his fiat
 "You're week behind" she said se- verely.
 "I can give you 57 cents on account" responded young MT. Patterson, and the coins reappeared. 'That's every cent have in the world," he added pa thetically. The eyes of the young wo- man not being sympathetic, he turned his upon those of the picture girl. This action apparently still further nettled the collector.
 "There were two gentlemen" she said, emphasizing the last word, ''look- ing for room today. They are ready to pay $4 for this. shall rent to them from tomorrow. Of course you under stand if you can't pay up"- She glanced significantly at Billy's shabby trunk.
 You're right" said Billy. "And that's it. There's nothing in it. I've hung up everything except myself. Perhaps in the morning. He glanced at large hook in the ceiling, but when he turned his gaze to the door again the material picture that had been framed there had departed in wrath.
 Billy closed the door and sat wearily upon his bed. He was only twenty three It seemed to him that he had failed His was a bright, wholesome, optimistic nature. with an acute sense of humor, yet his stories were almost invariably of morbid and depressing character and met with little if any success.
 After time he sat up and stared at the faded pattern of the carpet, men, tally comparing it to the fiowery de- sign of his ambitions and his hopes when they, too, were new and upon which, it seemed to him, the world had trampled until all the color was quite gone. Suddenly he tossed back his I head, laughing oddly. and fixed a ! strained gaze upon the large hook in
 the plaster just over his head.
 "After all," he said harshly, "what ! matters? Nothing mattersv'
 He stood upon the bed and reached a hand to the iron hook. It seemed firm. He placed a middle finger through 1t and put his whole weight upon the
 hook. It held. He stepped to the floor
 and with his glance measured the dis tance from the surface nf tha hAd +~ the floor. As he turned again his eyes
 met those of the girl in the picture up- | on the wall. The blood flowed into his
 pale face, and he trembled as he leaned
 with clinched hands upon the tables edge. Suddenly he turned and flung
 himself, face down, upon his bed. weep ing with the bitterness of regret and | shame.
 When at last Billy Patterson sprang
 up, he kicked over his chair and paced
 the little room like an innocent man
 in prison cell.
 My God" he said, staring upward,
 Twill the tide never tusnY But he